


Hopeless Romance

by Fallennietehre



Category: Megas XLR
Genre: Battle, Cute scenes, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Frenemies, Friendship, Growth, Lust, M/M, Multi, Murder, Saving the World, Sci-Fi, Slavery, Slow Burn, Suicide, Technology, Unrequited Love, Violence, War, alien - Freeform, bunch of own characters, context of rape, damage, future hope, own universal knowlegde
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2020-12-27 13:16:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 51,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21119417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallennietehre/pseuds/Fallennietehre
Summary: It's been years since the war master Gorrath gave up on earth. the stolen mech and the time drive. leaving it behind him to preserve his dying race. just when he lost hope, he finds a brilliant scientist just stranded in space.he thinks"TIME DRIVE!"and home! but the adventure/drama/romance that happens to having a female among them after so long. ;) /No kiva/jamie/coop/ just GLORFT





	1. The beginning to an End

**Author's Note:**

> I had a stupid ugly crush on Gorrath when I first watch this show. no idea but here is the story I have written so far with much devotion as it's my biggest Fic I have ever written... so far anyway.  
I have tried my best to correct spelling and grammar.  
(shrugs here is my fic-hope you enjoy slow burn. because this one takes a hella while. no smut so far, sorry seekers.)  
posting it now I forgot how big this first chapter is...  
Enjoy non-the-less

He was a slave, one out of the millions of his kind. A species made to serve their makers. The hateful scientists and their leaders that did nothing but degrade and destroy everything they touched.  
He was just a boy, fearful of his masters. These monsters that held onto their chains and whipped them like mindless animals, he hated it. He hated every single one of them. The children were just as cruel as the adults. Heartless, faithless monsters that had no compassion, no second thought. They acted as they saw fit, they took what they wanted from the slave race, his people!  
Yet, he was just a child. He watched as the master's guards forced themselves onto his mother, hiding out of pure fear. His red eyes wide as he stared at the horror before him. His hands covering his ears in a naive attempt to muffle her screams and their laughter, it was a sight he would never forget.

Months passed when his mother discovered that she was pregnant, she had taken her life because of it. "I'd rather die!" she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'd rather die than bare their kin!" and with a swift arm, slit her own throat.

Orphaned and hateful, he sat on the street. His head in his hands in deep thought. Raging images, deceitful faces, cruel laughs, all echoed like a paragon in his head. He lifted his head and stared at a guard who was dragging a woman from her 'hair' tentacles. She complied, only hopeful that her fate wouldn't be horrific. He looked down to his feet and saw a glass shard; he gripped it and made a beeline for the guard. Without a word he walked in front of the guard and as the guard complained about his "audacity" he stabbed the guard in the chest. The armour the man wore proved meaningless. The shard stuck out dripping red with blood. The man's mouth hung open as his heart was pierced. His hand releasing the woman as he fell. Gasps from his people in the street, everything about him appeared to have frozen. He didn't care; as he looked down at the red liquid pooled beneath the dead man. He looked about his people, women, children and men and he felt that things needed to change, and quickly  
"I won't allow this to go on any longer! I'll kill every one you!" His voice echoed up and down the street. "Let's change this! These are our lives they're messing with! Let's put an end to their hate!" He roared a bloodied fist in the air.  
At first, they were fearful, all glancing about. "We are stronger than them!" he continued. "They were fools to make us strong! Make us strong enough to build their homes. We can destroy them, Revolt!" again silence answered him. He gripped his head and growled.  
"Aren't you tired of your family being murdered? Aren't you fed up with how poorly they treat us? They think their God's, they're not!" he was a child, who would listen to him? "You killed him" a soft whisper come to his left, the woman who the guard was pulling from the hair was staring at him with tears in her eyes. "You saved me" she smiled softly. A man stepped up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm with you kid" He answered. His red eyes staring back up at the boy's.  
One by one, the people followed.  
The Glorft rose against their creators and with them as their king, was war master Gorrath.

He had taken rule over 3 other worlds that resonated with his home world. But by some stroke of bad luck, his home world was invaded and destroyed. As they retreated to the other worlds, the ominous invaders followed until Gorrath had no choice but to gather his largest warships and escape into dead space. He had and invaded, save for food and resources before he left. Hating and fearing that the invaders would destroy the worlds he'd concur.  
His scientists had attempted to create a time drive, something that would send him back in time to stop the invaders before his people were destroyed. And as he invaded a back water world in sector 0396 he battled and war raged on and just as he was about to get his mech, the mech that his scientists had worked on and improved since the destruction of their world, held the time drive. He was so close to using it when the cunning earthers stole it. They used it and he followed it back, but as his deepest annoyances came too. A fat blonde earther, who was stupid and just seemed to be lucky…, He was defeated, time and time again. He couldn't fathom how something like this human could defeat a war master. And as he was dragged into a warped future, where this human had successfully destroyed his race and he no longer existed. Having to face the evil earther was something he found extremely irritating. And once the evil Coop was defeated, he attempted an alliance with the original fat Coop but fell short and abandoned the entire idea of ruling Earth and its people. Having to throw his pride and ego out and away as he retreated from Earth, to preserve his people, it was more important than a single mech, who he discovered no longer held the time drive, he became infuriated at the discovery.  
He moved into deep space, hoping to never have to face any more Earthlings. If he did, it would be too soon. His Commander, having better knowledge, didn't bring up Gorrath's retreat. Save his jawblock from becoming Gorrath's new hip accessory. Gorrath had set his current scientists to work on another time drive. He had his men were practically immortal, so long as they had their heads. But he knew that the moment his men started to crave the pitter patter of little feet or the slither trails on the floor. There'd be trouble. One in particular because the last world was mostly militia, no women and no women meant some very frustrated men.  
He pinched his brow at the mere thought.  
"War Master" Commander made himself known as he entered the dark and quiet space of the command centre "What is it Commander?" Gorrath said in an annoyed tired tone and the second in command swallowed before he continued "We will have to find a habitable world for food resources and fresh water" Commander waited silently for his Lord to reply and all he got was an agitated sigh. "You are my second in Command are you not?" he held a glare over his shoulder to his second "Yes, my lord" Gorrath turned on his heel and had grabbed his second by his facial tentacles. "Then play your part as my second or I'll have your jawblock!" his enraged voice echoed in the metallic room, his second's red eyes were wide as he nodded.  
Gorrath left the Command centre, leaving the duty of finding a suitable world up to his second while he moved to his quarters. The door slid closed with a hiss and he stood there enraged with how far he brought his people only to have to retreat because of paranoia. Unless his scientists could recreate the time drive, he was at a loss, he didn't know how far back in time the human had thrown him and the uncertainty that it was further back enough to save at least his second planet would be unreal. Impossibility that he'd have such luck due to the Earthers

The red alarm flashed and rang loudly as they entered an asteroid field. Gorrath yelled threats to his pilot who had fallen asleep at the worst possible time. His ship had order and because of a simple few who felt like a game night would be appropriate, the moron hadn't slept and slept on the job.  
"If My ship is damaged beyond repair I'll have your jawblock!" he shoved the frightened Glorft aside as he took the helm and led the ship safely through the terra field. After a while the ships scanners picked up a distress signal and the screen highlighted the source and identified it as an escape pod. Mumbling curiously under his breath he sent one of his men to retrieve this pod. Hopefully whomever was inside the infernal thing proved of use or he'd just have to kill and dispose of them.  
He turned briefly and pointed a claw at one of his men who stuttered about himself from being singled out "You! Go and bring me that pod!" he gave a nod before rushing out, the Commander watching at a safe distance. Gorrath watched as one mech came into view and manoeuvred from colossal rock to the next before grabbing on to the pod and returning. Gorrath returned to safely removing the large ship out of the terra fields before he handed the helm back to one of his men, thankfully the one whom fell asleep was no-where to be seen, as he exited the command deck and went to the docking bay where the soldier, who he had randomly pointed to, waited with the pod. Not to say he didn't get strange looks from the other men. War Master Gorrath had his men bow to him as he passed them, none daring to look him in the eye.

His soldier bowed as Gorrath stood before him "Open it" and with the Commander standing beside him watched as the pod was opened. Revealing a rather startled woman, who fell at the feet of the War master as she stumbled out, her wrists were bound together in chains. Her green hair plated and on her head and on each side were three horns each pointing upward almost giving her an air of a crown. She had smooth scales and her tail was thin and long. Gorrath eyed the woman as she looked up at him, she seemed more agitated than fearful. Her eyes were a red and burned orange to a brown her pupils' forming thin slits as she wore a scowl. Her clothes were a dark grey and ragged. He knew the immediate thoughts that would no doubt rise at the sight of the green female. And he hoped that he wouldn't have to remind his men of his law. "Woman, I hope you have skills that will be of use" her response to him was a low growl, her fangs barred. "Touch me fiend and I'll eat your heart" he was not amused. He looked down at the chains that bound her and could see teeth marks in the metal. "I won't ask twice woman. You will tell me what your skills are and if you have nothing that interests me, I'll have you killed" his low menacing voice made her mumble beneath her breath before she sighed "I'm a mechanical engineer or a scientist as some called me" he hummed in surprised the delight clear on his face. "Tell me creature, do you know anything about Time drive technology? And if you don't I'm afraid I'll have very little use for you" he spoke evenly and she rolled her eyes. "What is it with war lords and time drives?" she mumbled "speak up!" she glared at him "I am familiar with that technology"  
What stroke of luck was this? The more scientists working on a time drive unite the better chance his people had for survival. But was she telling the truth or sowing lies? He grabbed the woman by the collar of her shirt and lifted her off her feet "If you are lying to me just to save your skin you'll suffer my wrath" he growled lowly "I'm not a very confident liar" she choked out before he placed her on her feet. She stepped away from him the moment he released her. "What's your name?" she looked down "I don't have one" she said softly and Gorrath rose a brow to the response. He hummed lightly thinking that he'd bring her somewhere where less of his men could eye her down. The soldier that stood next to the pod placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her facing his lord and she shook his hand off viciously. Gorrath grabbed the chains and pulled her to follow him, his second behind her. "Just don't agitate Lord Gorrath anymore than he already is" he whispered to her and she rolled her eyes. He pulled her into an open room that held a single table. Commander closed the door behind him.  
Gorrath examined the damage to her wrists from the shackles. And he could see a light indent in her scales and even a few scales missing in place of the metal. "So you have no name?" Commander asked curious. But before she could reply Gorrath continued. "You're a slave then, who were your masters?" He glared her down. Daring her to lie to him "I don't know they didn't speak any language I knew." He glared at the metal shackles before he looked at her, she was the type that would attack if attacked, he could tell that much. "Will you be able to build me a time drive or not?" he demanded. "I'll be able to, but it'll take time, each component is delicate" He tugged on the chain roughly to bring her closer to him as he glared the woman down. He could see that she was on guard and the glare she gave him held steadily but the small hint of uncertainty and fear shined deep beneath her eyes. "Swear your allegiance to me and I'll be sure that you won't be harmed. Swear to me and I'll make your slave life only a memory" it was a huge promise and Gorrath wouldn't have it any less. She didn't seem at all surprised by his proposal only cautious. "I Swear allegiance to you Lord Gorrath" Her voice was monotone. He nodded before he brought her bound arms up and snapped the chain with a simple squeeze before he took out a small laser and melted the shackle locks till they snapped off. Seeing that display strength as he easily snapped the chains with a small squeeze made her gulp in new found fear "Commander, see to it that she has her own quarters." He nodded as he moved out the room before he'd be threatened to lose his jawblock for the ninth time this week. Gorrath turned to her and eyed her as she rubbed her wrists. He sat down and gestured she'd take a seat herself. She kept her eyes lowered and he had plenty of thoughts run through his mind  
"Were you born into slavery?" His voice was still firm but it held a line of gentleness and she just nodded. "You don't wear the air of a slave" he stated thinking out loud and she sighed. "A rare find to have a scientist as a slave… makes me wonder how you became a scientist" she looked at him "You think that I lied about being a scientist?" he didn't budge "I suspect many would lie to save their hid from death" she shook her head "Why were you in that pod? What happened before then?" she gave him an even look, levelling to his tired sturdy glare. "I don't know. The alarms blared, explosions, blast fire, screams. My master shoved me in the escape pod before I even had a chance to completely wake up." She looked to the side "I suspect I was ejected only hours before you found me. I have no idea what happened" he hummed lightly before a grin tugged at his lips and a light chuckle escaped him "Your master may yet live and you were so easily turned to swear your allegiance to me?" he held slight humour in his tone and she rolled her eyes. "I'm not easily broken and I held no high thoughts on him, also I hadn't sworn allegiance to anyone before but one thing will stand. Respect is earned not given. None of those bastards gained my respect and I won't yield to ill minded brutes" He nodded, the rage and hatred clear in her voice. "Do you know of my race? The Glorft?" the uncertain look about her as she shook her head made him hum. "You'll need a name" she looked at him surprised "Really, a name? not 'slave do this' or 'slave do that'?" She looked at him confused "I won't have that running about." He said sourly

She stood at the foot of her so called ''private quarters'' with the Commander at her side. He had explained why Gorrath was being "generous" and why she even got a room on the ship. He told her that it had been 'a while'; to put things lightly, since the men have seen a woman worth looking at. She didn't find that at all reassuring but the Commander said Lord Gorrath wouldn't tolerate such ill-mannered behaviour from his men. And that she would be safe.  
He told her that when she was within her room, it will be security locked and only He and Lord Gorrath would have the codes to unlock it, so as he left she watched and waited to hear the mechanisms turn and lock and after they did she looked about her… humble abode? The room was small and cosy, a single bed was near the port window and it had folded sheets and a pillow. She stared at it; did she hit her head harder than she thought when He had shoved her into the pod? She had a bed! With blankets! And a pillow! She went to poke at it, to see if it'll disappear on her. And much to her pleasure and bewilderment, they didn't vanish. She picked up the material and found that it was soft and thick, a dark green with a red emblem on it, the Glorft emblem. She soon smelt it to see if there were… Err… any Glorft scents on it… it had a bit of an odd smell; she had never smelt such a peculiar scent before, it was like soap and stale air…, that was the closest her mind could get to it. Shrugging she dropped the blanket and went to explore further and found a small closet with a few lab coats with a red band on the left sleeve. Also other black clothes, she grabbed a shirt and found it to be a bit large… the same thing with the pants… it was obvious that these were men clothes. She put them back as her eyes landed on a door panel, she poked it and it opened and revealed a small bathroom, in it a hybrid bath and shower, a toilet, and a sink with a mirror… her mouth fell open  
"This can't be real, I'm hallucinating… yet" she gazed back to the bed and the closet then back to the bathroom and she was about to walk in when the main door hissed open and she turned to see Gorrath stomp in angrily. Was this just a tease? This entire bedroom just something to get her hopes up only to crush them down? She wondered as Gorrath made his way to her and she took in a large breath of air. Was this 'Gorrath' like the other senseless warlords she had come to serve?  
"I see you've explored your quarters. Have you come up with a name yet, or should I just give you one?" she stared at him for a moment "Give me one if you'd like. I've never really contemplated on 'names' before" he eyed her as he thought of a proper name for the lizard woman. "Kira" he announced. "Kira" she murmured after him softly, getting familiar with the name. "Kira, you will start working on the Time drive immediately." He took out a lab coat and tossed it at her, she caught it and watched as he started walking out and as he neared the door he looked back at her "Don't just stand there, follow me!" with a startled jump she followed as she put on the coat.

Kira was left alone in a lab and the door was locked behind her. She stood for a moment as she looked about the lab and the chaos it was in. There was an open station and she went to it and put her hands on her hips. Where should she start?

Kira was among the Glorft for month and each time she was sent to the lab, it was quiet and in a new state of chaos, she had locked away her blue prints of the Time Drive she was making and she took the parts of the Time Drive back with her to her room when the guards and the Commander went to fetch her. Lord Gorrath had intrusted two of his top men to guard her at 'night', when his men on the ship slept. They took turns in bringing her food and they held no more conversation than a greeting. In all her years of being a slave, being among the Glorft had to be the most pleasant experience she had ever had. She was fed regularly; she had her own sleeping space and a bed! She loved and enjoyed her bath thoroughly. She hardly had to explain what she was doing and the Commander was enthusiastic about her knowledge and when Gorrath actually went to see her progress he didn't yell at her, just told her to "speed it up" and to "Continue as she was". She had heard from the Commander how stupid their 'scientists' were sometimes that he often questioned their intelligence. She learned the names of her guards, the leader was Dren his second was Kaman. Apparently they were his highest ranked assassins.  
She sat on her bed as she looked at the world they were closing in on. It had a green hue in the atmosphere and it appeared to be a swamp like planet.

Gorrath looked at his Commander's statistics of the world he had observed and it had edible food and water, they'd have the ship hover in the sky while his men took the mechs and gathered supplies.  
The life on the planet was at a tribal stage and they made sure to work around them where they can draw their likeness on stones.  
Kira enjoy the sight of life on the planet. It was so interesting and fascinating to her, considering she had never stood foot on solid ground before.

After the new food and fresh water had been brought to the ship they took leave and headed out into the darkness of space.

Gorrath stalked to the females sleeping space, he had to see how long it'll take for her to finish her time drive. He knew that depending on his scientists that it'll be years before they managed to get their brains together and actually build anything worthwhile, Commander sadly had little knowledge of the technology, it was sad because he was a good inventor himself.  
He typed the code in and the door hissed open and she stood up the moment she saw him and gave a light bow. "Kira, how much longer do you think you'll need for your Time drive to be completed?" she thought for a bit and shook her head, "it's hard to say Lord Gorrath. Each component is very delicate and if I rush any more than I already am. I might miscalculate and the-" he rose his hand and shook his head "Give me an estimated time, how many years will it take?" she stared at him "I assure you, it won't take me years to complete this. Maybe a year, at best. But not Years" she said, her voice light on his ear drums. Gorrath found that extremely pleasing to hear "Only a year?" he inquired and she gave a firm nod and he found himself grinning for a moment before his frown returned "If it works, you'll be rewarded." He turned to leave "It will work Lord Gorrath" he heard her say before the door hissed closed.  
He sat down at his table, his food fresh, set by the chiefs. His food was fancier than the rest of the men's food. The cooks always took pleasure in making fancy food for their king. Also because nothing went to waste, Gorrath had a black hole for a stomach.  
Kira was working at her station when Dren went in and placed a flower from the planet they were previously on before on her desk before he returned to his post. She looked at it, it had a red centre and purple spots on the ends, the petals were long and frilled. She didn't know what to think, why did he give her a flower? Shrugging she put it aside as she continued working on the delicate instrument. Something gnawed at her from her deep thoughts… how was this Time drive going to operate? What power source did she need? She put down her tools and began thinking endlessly of all the sources of power she could build for it. But as the minutes ticked by and theory after theory ended up in some type of disaster she swore beneath her breath. She wasn't permitted to go back to her room until the rest of the ship woke up and she'd be sent back to get rest. She hoped that she still had that crystalline/ diamoniad shard in her pants pocket. If she did, then a power source wouldn't be of worry, if she didn't, she'd have to inform the Commander and that'll no doubt piss Gorrath off. She held her head, it better still be there or she'd be screwed.

She attempted to continue the construction of the device to kill the time so she could go back and see if she did have it, it proved difficult and frustrating. And after a few more hours she hung her head as she leaned back over her chair. She reminded herself to just relax and breath and as she did her eyes landed on the flower, it was so strange. What sort of mannerism was this? Giving someone a flower? She reached for it and looked at it again. It was pretty and she could smell a vague essence from it, it was sweet and aromatic. It was pleasant from all the bark and other peculiar scents she found on the ship. Yet again, she had only been in the lab and her room and the corridors that lead to each place. Good thing she wasn't use to wondering around, otherwise she'd feel claustrophobic and irritated. "Hey, psst! Kira" she looked up as one of the guards, Kaman, called to her. "Put that away!" she looked at the flower then heard Gorrath and the Commander arguing, startled from holding something she suspected wasn't permitted she opened a drawer and shoved it in before slamming it shut, she quickly grabbed one of her tools and pretended that she was hard at work. They walked in and Gorrath slammed a fist near a desk besides her making her jump up and look at him. The Commander gave her an apologetic look. "Fix it or I'll have your jawblock Commander!" Gorrath yelled and the Commander quickly made his way out. "Uhm… Is everything okay?" she stood up and bowed quickly as she looked at him. He growled "Hardly" she put her hands to her side as she waited for him. "How many parts does this blasted device have?" He questioned her and she was thankful that there was a desk between them "15" she squeaked out, his eye twitched. "The last Time drive only consisted of 5 parts. Why does yours have 10 more?" she swallowed "Not every species has the exact same design" she explained as carefully as she could. "Will yours be easily accessed then?" she nodded and he hummed with thought, "I want this Time drive to only be accessible by me, can you make that happen without having more months set on it?" she looked back down at her device and thought after a while she slowly nodded. "I can make it happen without prolonging it. It's going to be difficult however" he walked around the desk and leaned close to her making her back away into the table "Make it happen" he spoke coldly before he left. She let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding.

Once she was lead back to her room she made a beeline for her old clothes and scrambled for her pants, she breathed a sigh of relief as she held it; the blue purple glowing stone calmed her nerves. She had a power source for the Time Drive.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> frustration already builds.   
(I'll get better at summaries soon )

Chapter 2: Chapter 2  
Gorrath tossed and turned in his sleep, his sheets crumbling and his blanket on the floor. Cold sweat beaded his brow and his breath was short. His jaws were locked in a painful snarl and his claws had begun tarring through the thin material. He awoke with a start and sat up and realised his jaw had locked and began to message the tense muscles. He mumbled incoherently to himself about the past.  
Night after night, attempting to sleep proved impossible as it was frustrating, he wasn't even going to bother to attempt to sleep again this night, so instead he went to splash water on his face before he put his armour on and went for a walk on his ship, while most of his men slept, it was quieter and far less tiresome. Not having the urge to threaten one of his men to get back into line or else lose their jawblock. Not having a pounding headache each time one of his men accidentally broke something of importants. Without solid ground to walk on it appeared that his men were starting to lose themselves in revelry and frustration. A pone chance as it were; he found himself going to the laboratories. He didn't really care of 'why' he was going there and he had little reason to disrupt and disturb the young woman while she worked hard on his time drive.

His men saw his approach and bowed, he noticed how one of his men appeared to have quietly whispered something before straightening out, and he'd have a word with that one later. He walked in and saw her stand up and greeted him pleasantly. It was amusing. "Do not mind me, Kira. Continue as you were" he said as he made himself comfortable at a nearby table. She gave a confused frowned before she steadily sat back down and resumed her tinkering.

The air was awkward and the sounds of her tools clanging softly against the metal and the laser pen slightly making a zapping sound as she moulded the metal to her will. Gorrath found himself enjoying himself. It put his mind at ease, watching her work steadily. Her eyes were focused; it was unlike his scientists whose minds couldn't focus on the batted objects in front of them, his eyes moved from her clean area to those of the chaotic fools to his right.

Had he lost his touch? Were his men becoming too frustrated to focus on the orders he had given them? Each day appeared worse than the last. He leaned his head on his hand as he thought. It was bound to happen he told himself. It had been years since his men had the liberty to relax and just enjoy a planet, a place to call home. He knew his ship would need constant repairs from the mechanics. He always got a complaint from a few of them about needing to restock their supplies. He had taken his ship in the deep reaches of space; the endless darkness was void of life.  
How the great had fallen.

Kira looked up from her station and saw Gorrath sleeping in the empty space near the door. She looked to the two guards who just shrugged. This warlord was different from the rest that was certain for her. Hours passed and the two were preparing to take her back to her room but they whispered uncertain about leaving their Lord's presence while he slept. Also about how pissed he'd be if any of them woke him up.

"You wake him up" Dren pointed to her, she blanched backwards "What? Why me?" she whispered back "You're less likely to have your jawblock removed if you do it" she swallowed hard before she slowly approached the sleeping Warlord.

She wasn't certain if she was even allowed to and she looked back at the two armoured guards and they urged her to continue. She reached out and shook him lightly "Lord Gorrath?" he groaned slightly "War Master Gorrath?" she shook him a little harder "Wake up" his face dipped in a deep frown before his eyes opened, she backed away quickly and gave him a small, if not a slight awkward, smile.  
He looked at her "What is it?" he demanded "It's 'morning' and I thought It'd be best if you were not left to be woken by the other scientists" Her voice calming to his tired mind. If she whispered any more than she did he'd find himself being lulled back into slumber. Breathing deeply to wake himself up as he stood he looked at her then his men. He stared at his men and Kaman attempted to remain still under it. "Lord Gorrath" he looked back down at her "Go get some sleep" his glare softened some as she gave him a small bow before his men lead her out. He watched her go, his mind not fully awake as he stood there for a while longer before he made his way to the Command deck.

Gorrath found himself going to the labs more often and he found her confidence in her work soothing and a relief. Each time he went he could see the progress which was rare because the other scientists' tables just appeared more and more chaotic. He actually found himself annoyed each time he looked at their stations.

He saw how uncomfortable his men looked each time he visited Kira while she worked. She didn't appear to mind after a while, the awkward and tense air returned to a fresh soothing atmosphere. In the passing months he found himself conversing with her while she worked, and it appeared to not hinder her work progress. She enlightened him of how the Time Drive was going to work and what each component would do. He was amused and impressed, and what he found even more appealing. He could fall asleep so easily and she wouldn't disturb him until it was 'morning' on the ship. He also knew it was dangerous to get too comfortable in her presence, for obvious reasons.

Today turned to be a bad day for Gorrath, Commander had nothing but bad news for him and his temper only kept growing, if one more worse thing were to happen today, the next unfortunate men who peeved him off, he'd rip their jaw blocks out and wear them on his wrists. When night fell and his men rushed out and away from him, he couldn't be more relieved. He made his way to the lab and he couldn't wait to just pass out from the days annoyances. But as he neared he could hear shouting and the sounds of an argument.  
"NO! You get out! We have work to do you obtrusive female!"

"Lord Gorrath isn't going to approve, you two shouldn't be here at this hour"

"The three of you get out! 'Twas our lab before you!"

He walked in and saw that his guards were attempting to remove the two scientists, who clung to their stations, Kira stood by her station … unimpressed. "I can now see what the Commander meant" he heard her murmur softly "What is going on here?" He knew exactly what was going on, but arriving and announcing his presence in such a manner felt more suitable especially with his anger. And he got his desired affect from three of the people in the lab. The two guards dropped the stubborn scientists and faced him and Kira gave a startled jump as she faced him. The two fat scientists just waved him off dismissively as they continued to do whatever the hell they were doing. "Lord Gorrath can you get these three distractions from our lab!" yelled the one "And that one!" he pointed to Kira "Is stealing our technology!" she narrowed her eyes and he growled, their yelling only raised his temper "Why are you idiots here!" he roared, the two guards moved out his way "We are working on a new project!" one pointed upward gleefully "Yes! It may blow up though" hearing that he sighed in irritation and Kira moved to stand beside him "No, you're going to destroy everything! Lord Gorrath, please if they won't leave let me take the Time drive somewhere I'll be able to work in peace"

He only growled and his fist shook at his side, Dren, having seen Gorrath unleash his fury before knew what to look for and he grabbed her arm and pulled her out. "Kaman, close the door" he did and continued to follow Dren's lead "Wait? What's happening?" Kira asked as she was led away. "Lord Gorrath has a temper as you've heard." Kaman stated he was not inclined to talk about what was going to happen to the two scientists. Dren could see her confused but fearful expression, "Remember his threating to remove men's jaw blocks?" he inquired and she nodded "Those two aren't going to have their lower jaw's for much longer" her eyes widened before she looked forward and remained silent.

"Lord Gorrath! Mercy!" The one pleaded pitifully as Gorrath slammed his foot on the man's chest making him choke up from the sudden force "You two have been a thorn in my side for far too long! I have given you a chance to redeem yourself and to save our people by building me a time drive! Yet you squander your freedom with idiotic experiments that blow up precious cargo and ruin my ship!" he growled as he grabbed the other one by the nap of his neck and he gave a chocked cry "We're building the time drive my lord!" Gorrath tossed him harshly against the table. "Your Jaw blocks will be a nice reminder to the men on this ship of what happens when they step out of line"

Dren ordered Kaman to remain by her door as he went to the labs. He had grabbed a fresh glass of high grade wine as he went down. He stood by the door and by the silence he assumed that the deed was done. And he waited for Gorrath to open the door. After a while the door hissed open and the carnage that stood behind Gorrath was apparent that it was not a quick end for the two. In his left hand he held the two lower jaws, blood splattered his armour, and his rage had simmered down. Dren bowed down on a knee, the lower the better. The more submissive the posture the less inclined Gorrath would shove him down- and he held out the glass of wine, Gorrath accepted the offer downing it instantly and shoving the empty cup back to Dren. "Where is my scientist?" he glared at Dren, Dren remained in his bow, head low and eyes to the ground "We took her back to her room My Lord, Its best that she doesn't see this." Gorrath nodded "Good" and he left to get his armour cleaned and get his new accessories polished.

The Commander was about to bring him more bad news when he saw Gorrath walk to his chambers. The smell of spilt Glorft blood hung in the air, silencing the chatter of the men near enough to see and smell the death. Instantly the Commander put off the bad news and ordered the men to not push their king any further. He made a bee-line for the labs, moving as fast as his tentacles would allow. When he arrived he saw one guard, Dren, standing at the door. Two body bags being moved out and a cleaning crew worked hurriedly to remove the blood. "Where is she?" the Commander asked instantly pone seeing the amount of blood that splattered the walls "She is in her room Commander, we took her away before she could see this" The Commander sighed, two more men to the roster of Gorrath's rage. "What happened to set him off?" Dren pinched his brow, "Those two have been dancing on the line of Gorrath's rage for too long. They were practically begging him to silence them." He sighed "They were still in the lab when we brought her down. They didn't like that we ordered them out so she could work. So instead they argued and accused her of theft, she didn't budge. We even attempted to drag them out but Lord Gorrath walked in. and this was the result." Dren indicated to the lab. "Commander, sir, you have a way with words that can ease the temper of our lord. Perhaps you can ease the troubles of our remaining scientist?" The Commander nodded, "Yes, Gorrath won't be pleased if she lost her senses, it's best that we spread the news of Gorrath's latest kill. The men shouldn't tip the War masters rage any more than it has" and with that he left for her room.

Kaman stood tall by her door and when the Commander arrived he gave a nod in greeting "Go and get her dinner early. She won't be working tonight" he nodded and went off. The Commander knocked on her door before he went in, he found her standing, her posture was ridged and when she saw it was he she gave a sigh of relief. "Evening Commander" she greeted and he sighed "You won't be working on the Time Drive tonight. You can take it easy until everything is back to normal." Her brows knitted together "Did-did he really, remove their-?" she held her bottom jaw and the Commander nodded. "Yes, he did. Gorrath will be wearing their jaw blocks somewhere on his armour. Either his hip or wrists, depending in their size." She gave a noticeable *gulp* as she stepped backward into her bed's frame. "Do not think about it, Kira. Gorrath won't do that to you. You're the only remaining scientist, far too valuable." That did appear to ease her "Gorrath wasn't always a Tyrant, you know. He was an excellent leader an exceptional King. He saved all of us from slavery. Have you ever wondered of why he so desperately wants the Time drive built?" she took in a few breaths. "Other war lords wanted a Time drive to go back and destroy their enemy before the enemy could raise their head in battle. So I assume it's something similar?"   
The Commander nodded,"Yes, if we can go further back in time, we can defeat the enemy and save our home worlds. Gorrath had just made a third world thrive when an enemy came and destroyed our first world. We fought endlessly to save it and as many people as possible. But it was too late and Gorrath had ordered a mass evacuation of the second world only hours before the same enemy came and destroyed the second world. The people didn't make it out of the blast range and were killed. The third world was a Militia world. And it was where this ship as while as a thousand others was built. Many of the men on this ship are the survivors. And our numbers have been dwindling.

And, like the last of our worlds, it too was destroyed by this ominous enemy. We had done what we could to survive it was years later did Gorrath thirst again for a new world and the closest we got was a back water world. The inhabitants were stubborn and didn't die as easily as we wanted. It proved to be the one of the longest wars we fought in. Just as our scientists had created a Time Drive within a mech, we lost it due to the Earthers and we followed it back in time. We have no idea how far back we were thrown."

He sighed "after some time of fruitless battles, something happened to Gorrath and he gave up. Retreating from that world. It had been a couple years since then."  
She nodded   
"So in the time you all lost your home, he became a tyrant? Did he threaten anyone of losing their jaw blocks before then?" The Commander nodded his head "He began threatening his men when his men became cocky and started to disobey his laws. He lived up to the threats; many men lost their jaw blocks. A lot of us say that Gorrath is stronger than any of us. He was unique among the Glorft. While most of us coward, he stood up to his masters."   
She looked at him in awe, "It's hard to believe that any of you were slaves" The Commander nodded "If-when you finish that Time Drive and it works and we have a chance to defeat the enemy, than Gorrath will be sure to make the life you had as a slave nothing but a bad dream. He makes sure each action is dealt with accordingly. If you push him too far and piss him off, he'd make sure you either stand back in line or regret it. If you do as he asks without him having to constantly check on you, then you'll be rewarded" The Commander explained. She looked out her port window as they were passing a nearby galaxy. "Get your rest and don't think too much about what happened" The Commander said kindly before he left.

Gorrath had placed his armour on the rack and closed the door to the steamer. He pulled out a stool and sat down at his trophy case, many sizes of jaw blocks, polished and bleached white. He had at least a little over a hundred all lined neatly against the dark steal. On the sides were heads of beast and other creatures, they too were bleached white and polished. He had gotten so accustomed to doing so, he didn't even need to think about what or why he was doing it. He believed that each of these idiotic men deserved their fate. He regretted nothing.  
Yellow Gold light bled through his blinds and he turned slightly to see the light source came from a nearing galaxy. He put down the jaw block and went to look out; his skin craved the warmth of the sun.

Kira sat with her food on her bed, her eyes looking at the beauty of a new galaxy. In her hand she held the precious stone and it glowed prettily at her light caring touches.

After a few days she was allowed to return to the lab and to do her work. She was no more eager to return to the scene of the crime but it was the only working space that she was permitted to have. She walked in and found everything sparkles. She returned to her station and unlocked the current component she was working on and placed it on the table before she sat down and worked silently. Her face was devoid of enjoyment or satisfaction. Her features were empty of expression, not even her eyes held emotion. After a few hours she had dug in her draws and opened one and saw the flower, it's frilled petals drying and crinkling. She picked it up and looked at it; Dren noticed it and a bit of pride bloomed within his chest at the sight of her admiring the token of affection he gave her. He was too busy with noticing her that he hadn't noticed that Lord Gorrath was nearing the lab and was too late for him to tell her to put it away before Gorrath could see it.

Gorrath cleared his throat at the entrance and Dren immediately bowed on a knee seeing that Kaman had already done so. Kira stood up and gave Gorrath a bow with a kind greeting, Gorrath looked at the flower she held and eyed her suspiciously

"What is that?" he demanded, instantly disliking the object within her grasp. She blinked and appeared confused before she looked at the flower and became a little startled before she placed it on the front of her desk "It's a flower, My Lord" she said and he picked it up "Where did you get it?" he inquired and he could see the fear within her eyes "uh- D-Dren, gave it to me, I had forgotten when however" she spoke in a small voice, Gorrath twirled the fragile plant between his fingers before he turned to face the still bowing Dren, he knelt near him "You should know better " He said in a voice that made Dren gulp "Yes, My liege" Gorrath crumpled the flower in his hand as he stood up "Don't do it again" he looked back at her and her worried expression irritated him "Continue your work Kira" she nodded and sat down quickly, Gorrath looked down on Dren and he dropped the flower in his line of vision and stomped on it as he made his way out.

Dren stood when it was clear and he picked up the remnants of the flower before he put it in a bin and returned to his post at the door. He knew that if he spoke to her now, with Gorrath nearby that he'd most likely be his next victim. Kaman showed him some amount of sympathy and he growled irritated and closed the lab door. This way, Gorrath will be sure to know that neither Dren, nor Kaman had been flirting with her.

When the lab door hissed closed she put her head in her hands and breathed, doing what she could to calm her nerves. She didn't understand why a flower was a bad thing, was Gorrath allergic? After a tired sigh she continued to finish the 8th component. It was a pretty flower, but it had done no harm, she didn't understand why he gave her a flower in the first place. She shook her head. "Whatever, it's not of importants"…

Gorrath had the ship near a planet that supported life, its inhabitants were mostly animals, there were no sign of intelligence. She was tired but watched the men come and go, the planet had blue and pink trees, its grass was a light blue, and the sky was purple. It was worth staying awake for. She pulled on the large T-shirt and pants getting comfy as she braced a pillow against the port window-sile. She wondered what it must feel like to have wind in her hair or to lay on such fluffy grass.

She had heard tails from her mother of such and from other beings. But she had never set foot on solid ground.  
It was day hours on the ship as he went to go see her in her quarters. His men bowed at his arrival and he unlocked the door and went in, only to discover that she wasn't properly dressed and was still asleep, her head by the window, her arms embracing the pillow. Dren and Kaman shared worried looks as Gorrath left the entrance and walked in with the door hissing close behind him.  
Gorrath didn't know what he was going to do exactly as he walked closer to the sleeping woman. He looked at her, her face was serene and calm, a slight smile on the edge of her lips. Her breathing was deep and slow as he watched her shoulders rise and fall softly. Her hair was a little messy, not in the usual tight plate behind her head, it was looser and small strands had found their way into her face. He pulled a chair quietly from the table and positioned himself near her as he sat down and removed the hair from her face softly. Seeing her in such a peaceful state calmed him some, and he didn't know why she had such an effect on him.   
Her mere presence seemed to make him relaxed. He leaned back as he watched her, his eyes trailing over her features. She'd breath in deeply, snuggling closer to the window barrier, her legs moved beneath the blankets, her tail slipped out and curled on top of the blankets. Despite the large top he could still see the outline of her body and it was appealing. He sighed softly when he realised what his mind was doing, just a few more months and you'll have your own people back he reminded himself as he looked at her. She was appealing, very attractive even but he knew that it was dangerous territory. Because he and his men have gone so long without the touch of a woman, he knew that if he showed signs of weakness in front of his men, his men would do the same in bolder attempts to gain her attention and that would turn to in fighting and arguments and riots. He couldn't have that. He stood up and made his way out. Locking the door as he glared at Dren, my men are already falling; he left to go back to the command deck. He'll have to endure a few nights of restless sleep and avoid her for a while, just so he doesn't get too enthralled with her presence. He was far too cosy with her as is; anymore and he'd be in trouble.

"Lord Gorrath reeeeally dislikes you" Kaman said and Dren moaned in annoyance "Yes well he knows that I feel some attraction to her because of that stupid flower" he stated bitterly "I should've made sure she took it to her room the night I gave it to her. He hardly comes here to see her" Kaman shook his head "unrequited love Dren. You're hopeless" he couldn't help himself a chuckle. Dren growled "Oh Shut up" Kaman laughed at his comrade's expense. It was entertaining.

She worked at her station, Kaman had left for an early night, his change in shift was to help move some supplies in the deep freeze. Dren stood at the door, eyeing the empty space where Kaman was, he eyed the corridor that Gorrath was no doubt going to come walking down to either to talk to her to have a nap. And when his gauntlet beeped at the change from Glorft day and night he shrugged and went in, "Hey, It's time to go" she looked at him with a nod and packed away everything and followed him out.

"… Kira?" he inquired as he could see that they were still alone, she looked up at him "What did you think about the flower?" she stopped and looked at him "It was pretty, why did you give it to me? Knowing that it would only piss Lord Gorrath off?" he looked at her a little confused "I gave you the flower because I admire you." She looked at him confused and a bit startled. "I don't understand, why you would risk it?" he chuckled deeply "Because a beautiful woman deserves to know that she's admired" he grinned broadly at her and she looked bewildered "Why risk your life for that?" he moved a stray strand of hair from her face "Some things are worth risking for" he gestured for her to continue walking. He felt prideful at stating his attraction for her and she still looked confused and had become somewhat nervous as she fiddled with her fingers along the walk back to her room.

Once in her room she frowned confused, her mind replaying the scene in the hallway. "Beautiful woman" she repeated softly before an unsure laugh escaped her "he thinks I'm beautiful?" she laughed a little more as she went to the bathroom "I think Lord Gorrath may have scared his senses out his skull" what game was Dren playing at? Her? Beautiful? What type of cosmic joke was that?  
After she had splashed some warm water on her face the entire confusion in the corridor was left at the back of her mind, her thoughts returning to how she'd finish the Time Drive and what she had to do next. She had only recently finished the 8th component. 6 more to go before she had to make it so only Gorrath can access it, and she'd have to cut off a bit of her precious stone for the power source

the bones had dried of its polish, the stench of death no longer lingering in his trophy room. Their jaws were large enough to be put around his armours gauntlets, and he tied them firmly in place. Gorrath hadn't slept at all and the nights before gifted him nightmares of his past. He massaged his brow as he sat and listened to the Commander, for once baring good news, the recent food supplies carried properties from their home world. Which meant he and his men would be getting nutrients and protein that they had sorely been missing. Though despite the good news, it didn't ease his headache. "Good work Commander, you get to keep your jawblock" he said tiredly, he needed a massage and some pain killers. The Commander kept silent about Gorrath's recent accessories and kept his eyes on his charts and seeing that Gorrath had a headache, decided to leave after his report.

after two more weeks of lacking sleep Gorrath gave in and went to go see her, his mind needed a break, nightmares and tossing and turning and constant headaches had only made him irritable and easily annoyed, thankfully, because of the jaw blocks on his wrist, his men had remained behind the danger line. He saw Dren and Kaman guarding the lab door and pone his arrival, Dren opened the door for him. He saw that the lab was neat, lacking the filth of the two previous occupants.   
"Evening My Lord" her greetings and light bow had already begun to do its magic, he felt ease sweeping over him. The door hiss shut and he was about to sit at his usual spot when he noticed a different chair in its place. Seeing Gorrath's surprise she spoke up "Dren and Kaman brought a better chair in for you My Lord. It's cozier and won't strain your back as you rest" he looked at her and gave a small nod as he sat down. She had immediately noticed the two jaw's on his wrists. It unsettled her. Having only met the two before their demise, she wasn't certain if it was unfortunate or fortuitous yet. She was about to sit down when she noticed that Gorrath was rubbing his neck, she feared him but her better nature got in the way, it was what normally caused trouble for her in her past. Though it was never direct at her masters since she always reveled in their pain, but other prisoners, she remembered when she saw a young girl was crying in fear and pain and she attempted to console the child through the bars of her cell, her actions soothed the child but got her in trouble and her compassion to the slaves about her always made her stand her ground and fight back, it had earned her a couple of beatings.  
But after the months she had at… working for him he hadn't actually harmed her, he only threatened to end her once and that was when she first met him.  
Gorrath noticed her stare after a while "What?" he asked abruptly, bringing her from her thoughts. "Uh… are you alright Lord Gorrath?" he eyed her before he sighed tiredly. "I have a migraine, just return to work" her expression softened as she ignored his order "My Lord, I can help ease your migraine, if you wish?" he eyed her, "And in what way will you be able to ease my migraine, hm?" she held her breath before she replied "I can give you a message? My mother said I had healing hands" he contemplated over the offer though because of his fatigue, he gave in "Fine, I am too tired to refuse it" she moved over to stand behind him, he kept his eyes closed and his head rested on his right fist.

The touch of her dainty hands on his neck was cold and sent a chill down his spine, but soon it became forgotten and his tense muscles were being massaged, her small hands were strong and her thumbs worked in the groves of his neck and he found himself giving a pleased moan as she found all the worst knots and worked them loose, damn this woman, he did what he could to restrain his groans. And if it wasn't enough for her to remove the knots and tension from his neck she had started to message his skull and it eased his headache and he found himself feeling light, the weeks of tension and pain being released at her strong hands.

She never had given a war lord a massage before but Gorrath hadn't been terrible and despite the other brutes, Gorrath had earn a bit of respect from her, because of how he treated her and how he didn't actually hurt her or beat her, nothing. She was thankful that he had found her and not some other aliens. And since the Commander had told her of what he had intended to do with the time drive, and the Glorft past, it made her respect him. The Commander said that Gorrath confides in him about many things and one of them was that he wanted to be a king, not a tyrant, being in space for too long and his men becoming simple minded and easily bored not to mention disobedient had made him a tyrant. He wanted order and his law obeyed. It was simple things. So a message to thank him for all that his done, was all she could do at the time being, once the Time drive was completed that'll be its own reward for her. Building and constructing such difficult and delicate instrument was a huge success for any scientist. She could only grow from this.

Gorrath had moved his head back as she massaged his neck and he looked far more relaxed than he has ever been in his entire life. "Woman, I'm going to have you work on my whole back soon."  
He said he removed her hands from his neck "Feeling better than?" he released her hands as she went to stand next to him "Where did a slave learn to do such, hm?" he asked her lightly, he could sleep like the dead tonight "Over time, I first started with my mother" she explained as she returned to her station to continue on the 9th component " I learnt to massage other tired slaves while I was locked away in prison, I mostly helped ease my mother's pain." He listened and could hear the sorrow in her voice, though it looked like she had come to terms with the past as the sorrow strayed from her features. "What happened to your mother, if you don't mind me prying?" it felt usual for him to say such a thing, "I don't mind, 'twas a long time ago anyway. She died from space travel. She spent most of her life on ground and having being in space and then becoming heavy with me, weakened her significantly. She nearly died giving birth to me. When I was 6 or 7 she died. Her body couldn't handle so much time in space." Her voice held warmth but sorrow underlined it. He didn't know quite what to say, sorry? "She has a smart daughter, she'd be proud" she smirked half-heartedly "She's better off" she said and he looked at her curiously "What were your parents?" she thought for a few seconds, pausing at her tinkering, "My mother was a Sericoos, my father was one of my mother's captures, a reptile man, he treated her fairly well as far as she explained, she always spoke fondly of him" she shrugged. Gorrath hummed, his eye lids becoming heavy. "and what became of him?" she shrugged "Mother never spoke of it, so I don't know" she looked at him and smiled softly "I don't think I've ever told any of the war lords in my past to rest as many times as I've told you to Lord Gorrath" he chuckled at her comment, " I'll wake you when it's morning" she gave him a soft smile he returned it tiredly before he closed his eyes. She's a dangerous temptress, was his thought before sleep consumed him.

Because of the message she had given him the night before, he was well rested and he had no headache or strain on his neck, he was in one of his best moods, having not yelled at the Commander or any other of his men the next day and the Commander immediately confronted him when the day was over and they were alone. "She gave you a massage?" he asked a little surprised "yes, I was surprised at first too and I wasn't eager to decline such an offer either." Gorrath waved it off as he went through various reports of the ships state. He honestly didn't want to think of her or her pleasing massage, though it did him good, it would be more trouble than what it's worth. "And she offered you a massage?" Gorrath slammed the paper on the desk as he glared at the Commander who backed away quickly "have you finally become deaf from my shouting?" he asked loudly "More deaf from surprise War master." Gorrath sighed "I know the dangers; I'm not going in that direction. I needed the message and she offered it at the right time" The Commander picked up one of the papers that flew off the desk and placed it back "She caught you on your most vulnerable, Fatigue is tricky" Gorrath agreed, "Now get out before you bring back my migraine Commander" he gave a bow before he left the office. Gorrath sighed as he stared at the reports; the Commander just had to pry didn't he? And today was going so well too.

Sleep couldn't have come sooner for Gorrath, the moment his head rested on the pillow he was out like a block. He had pleasant dreams, though he couldn't remember them when he woke the next morning, it was vague and new, it wasn't something he was used to. It had been years, years since he had a pleasant dream. It wasn't the nightmares of his past or memories replaying viciously. He stared at the ceiling above his bed as he attempted to recall what the dream was about and after a few more moments of nothing he got up and went to do his usual schedule….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are any error's you think I might need improvement on. Please let me know kindly.   
I hope you enjoy for those who are reading this weird fiction.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Progress for the Glorft!  
-Insert evil maniacal laughter-

Chapter3

The alarms blared as enemy ships had begun firing at the warship. Gorrath had his men out in mechs, fighting off the drones and defending the ship. Kira was startled from her sleep when the loud alarm rung and a metal shield moved over her window. She knew what that meant, they were under attack, she went to get dressed properly and just as she was about to re-plate her hair when a large blasted rocked the ship, throwing her against the wall. She couldn't help but give a pained shout from the force  
Gorrath held onto his control panel as a missile hit the ship, thankfully an unimportant part of the ship. "Defend the ship!" he roared over the coms as more men spilled out in their mech's shooting and blasting the silver warship. "Commander, warm up the big guns, we're taking that naïve fool down!" The Commander did as he was asked and the bottom half of the warship transformed into the large laser canon, Gorrath had his men face the silver ship. "Commander!"- "A few more minutes my liege!" a second bomb got through and it hit the left side of the ship. And instantly, the men aboard had begun to float. Gorrath and the others instinctively activated their gravity boots. "They hit our artificial gravity!" yelled one man

"Commander!"

"Ready now Lord Gorrath!"

"Aim and fire! Men move!" and just as the men had moved the blast fired and a few seconds later the silver ship exploded with bright yellow and red and the threat was destroyed. The men aboard cheered instantly. "Men, search the wreckage, I want no survivors" Gorrath stood for a while before his facial tentacles reminded him that their gravity was off and the backup hadn't come on. "You! Why hasn't the back up for our gravity activated" the man searched the system, "It's malfunctioning, sir!" he growled "Commander take the helm" he said before he left, two engineers following him, he saw that a few of the men were taking the no gravity to their advantage as they jumped from floor to floor and some with no armor were being helped to the inner railings. It was then that he remembered that someone else on the ship had no gravity boots. He indicated for the men to get to work on repairing the backup generator for the gravity as he went to her room.

He opened the door and was surprised to see her floating in the middle of the room, unconscious, she was fully dressed and her loose hair moved about her eerily. Becoming concerned he reached for her, just managing to grab onto her hand as he pulled her down and he made way for the bed and used the emergency ropes to tie her down, he held her hair out the way as he examined her head for injuries, he felt a rather nasty bump on the right side of her head. He noticed that her lower lip was cut as well. The explosions must've had her thrown into a wall. He tapped the side of her face "Wake up" and when he got no response he checked to see if she was still breathing, he could feel some air against his ear, she was alive, good. But she was knockout. He reached to put her hair in her shirt when a blue purple glow came into his line of sight. 

He looked at it, a small crystalline shard and it drifted near him. He reached out and took hold of it; the purple and blue colours turned a murky green, how unusual. A sudden moan caught his attention and he looked at her, her eyes fluttered open and he could see how her pupils were struggling to adjust, going large and then back into thin slits. After few moments she looked at him, he could tell that she was in pain due to her expression "Finally awake hm" The red flashing light stopped, temporality leaving the room in darkness the green glow light up between them and she looked at it and frowned, "Where did you get that?" her voice was strained and then the lights returned, and he watched her hair fall about the pillow and he untied her "It was floating in the room, the gravity was blown off." She forced herself to sit up, gasping slightly, holding her head "Please be careful lord Gorrath, that is very precious to me" she groaned and he held her steady "What is it?" he asked as he placed it back in her eager hands, it returned to the purple blue hues "a very rare stone, a bit of it is also going to be used to power the Time Drive" she flinched as she touched her head, "aw, my horn" she noticed that her top horn had broken off and in its place a giant painful bump had formed. Gorrath turned her head so he could see, now that her hair was back to its normal state he could see that her horn was indeed missing, he looked about and saw it over by the door. "I'm surprised you're not bleeding from it" he murmured "To the feel of it, it just narrowly broke by the veins." She groaned and as she leaned forward; unintentionally leaning into Gorrath. She didn't notice; her head hurt too much. Gorrath was taken aback by it but held her steady anyway.

"Don't pass out again, I'd hate to have you fall into a coma" he stated coldly, "Good point" she agreed as she forced herself to sit up, her eyes were strained; he could see that her pupils were struggling to stay focused still. "I hope this doesn't last long, otherwise I'd be sick" he frowned at the idea "You can hang in there for a while longer without losing your dinner" he stated. She shook her head slowly "I think I should go sit by the toilet just in case. I don't want to ruin your armour, or my bed" she jested lightly before another painful wave came over her making her shut her eyes tightly as she braced herself. She put the precious stone in her pocket of her pants before she attempted to move out of bed, Gorrath helped her somewhat and as she took a step her legs gave way and she fell into him, he caught her, she was light. And he led her to the bathroom and helped her as she knelt down. He knelt down beside her, moving the hair from her face, and being careful by her broken off horn. Her hair hadn't tangled and appeared rather smooth. He rubbed her back and she flinched, her back arching away from his touch "ah, that hurts" he was startled "Why didn't you say your back was injured as well!" he shouted annoyed that she left out that bit of information "shh shhh" she hushed him, a hand rested on his chest "

My head hurts too much, I didn't know I was injured there too, it took us both by surprise, agh" she leaned her head against the toilet, "please stop turning, just go back to being still" she whispered painfully. Gorrath growled softly, this wasn't good; he couldn't have his only scientist in such bad shape. He commed in the infirmary to send a doctor up immediately, he got a cold glass of water and held it to her, "drink this" she just groaned and he began to move her "please don't otherwise I will be sick" her voice had turned horse and dry, her behaviour concerned him.  
A Doctor arrived and rushed in, Dren and the Commander close behind, they saw Gorrath knelling close to Kira and he got up and allowed the Doctor to reach her. 

He went to pick up her broken off horn and looked over the break. "What happened?" Commander asked as he saw the horn "I assume that one or both explosions may have thrown her into a wall, knocking her out. I found her drifting in the room" Gorrath searched the room and saw a small indent in the wall near the window he went and inspected it. He placed the horn near it, it matched to some extent.

They all turned when unsavoury sounds came from the bathroom, Dren was about to stand by the door when the doctor closed in his face. "Dren, go help repair the damage to the ship. Now" he commanded lowly and Dren complied slowly as he left the room.

The doctor had given her a anaesthetic to knock her out when the hours had passed and she was safe from falling into a coma-she had stayed by the toilet the entire time and the Doctor had examined the extent of her wounds, there of course was her head injury, he explained to Gorrath that it was because of the horn breaking off that had made her injury severe, the force had made her vision unsteady and her senses off. Her back injury was from a bad bruise and a broken rib. Breathing would be painful and her movement would be restricted. He told Gorrath that it'll be safer and healthier if she remained bed ridden until she was healed. That of course pissed Gorrath off and to refrain himself from beating anyone up, left angrily.

By the time Gorrath had calmed down and went to check on his only living scientist, she was sitting up in bed, one hand held her side while the other lightly touched the sides by her missing horn. She flinched and would groan regrettably after it. Her head was in such a whirl that she hadn't noticed that Gorrath had already seated himself next her on her bed. When he held her shoulder to steady her rocking she looked up at him in utter shock.

He groaned irritably from the sudden fear that shone in her eyes and held back the urge to yell at her because of her … frailness. "L-lord Gorrath, how long have" she paused as her face cringed in a burst of pain "Relax Kira" he watched her as she attempted to regain her senses, her eyes were slightly puffy and the pain would make her features dip in an anguished frown, she nodded and reached up by her missing horn and he grabbed her hand to stop her from doing such a stupid act.

"Don't touch it, you'll only worsen your state!" his voice had raised and she flinched from it, he drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly "Your horn had broken off and you have a cracked rib, it seems like you'll be bed ridden and unable to work" his voice was hard and angry, he didn't want delays, he wanted his Time drive and he wanted to save his people and to just go home. Now his only liable scientist is injured and incapable of working, what next? She looked at him in shock "No, no" she hissed in a sting of pain "I'll be able to work" she gingerly rubbed her right side as she breathed "A broken rib is nothing, I'll gladly have 4 to remove the pain from the break of my horn" she drew in a sharp breath to open her lungs. 

Gorrath wasn't amused, "You can hardly breathe with one broken rib, how will you fair with 3 more, hm?" she chuckled at his seriousness and regretted it "No, don't make me laugh, it hurts" he snarled in response and she pulled her gaze up to him and just smiled lightly "Why are you here?" it was strange for her, no one ever did check up on her when she was wounded, not even the other slaves dared to. "Making sure you don't die, the Glorft need that Time drive" she chuckled lightly and held her side, of course, the Time drive. That's why he was checking on her, he had murdered the other scientist and now relies on her, was this a form of irony for her?

"I'll work on it, don't worry. You'll have you're precious Time drive. Being wounded isn't going to stop me from finishing this project" she said slowly and she noticed that Gorrath had blurred and the room suddenly felt like it was spinning. She leaned forward and groaned, unintentionally leaning into Gorrath's chest... again…He held her firmly by her shoulders, and a part of him contemplated on just holding her, but he didn't move his hands and stayed perfectly still. 

"My Lord" she whispered with a groan "this is embarrassing" she sighed "Can you… help me to the bathroom? The toilet mainly?" he pushed her back slightly to look at her and her eyes were shut firmly "Don't you dare get sick on me" he muttered as he helped her up "I'd hate too, agh" he helped her sit down by the toilet and he leaned down and frowned, amused "This is a bit familiar" she smiled softly "Thank you" she whispered, he moved the hair from her face, "Don't get yourself hurt just so you can get special treatment from me, got it" she heard the firmness in his tone but completely missed the humour on his face, with her head leaning against the toilet's frame, she thought he was serious "Got it"

After a few days she had managed to convince Gorrath and the doctor that she'd be able to work, but as a precaution, Gorrath had her things removed from the lab and into her room. The table she'd be working at was between the bed and the wall, close to the toilet. And as she would get up and work, she'd pause as a large headache would wave through her, giving her a nose bleed each time they came. She only managed to get a few hours in 'day' and 'night' taking long breaks after each vengeful wave. 

She was thankful Gorrath hadn't been around or awake when they happened. Gorrath only came by every few days a week to check on her and the progress of the project. Today happened to be one of the bad days for her, Dren had walked in and saw her nursing her bloody nose and began to smother her with attention. "No, Dren" she lightly pushed him back as he attempted to see just how bad she had gotten. "You need to lay down Kira. You can't work. Not like this" he held her firmly as he pushed her down on the bed, "I'm fine Dren, go" she pushed as much as she could before the pain and the broken rib made her give in. As Dren was about to get off her and the bed, Gorrath walked in and grew infuriated instantly. Dren hopped off the bed and backed away as much as he could with his arms held out to defend himself. "My Lord, it's not what it looked like! Promise!" Dren said as he knelt down on the floor.

From Gorrath's view, it looked like one of his men were about to take advantage of a frail woman and she had a bloodied nose too! Did Dren hit her? Kira attempted to sit up and explain what was happening when she saw Gorrath's immediate hate and Dren's submission and cowardice and seeing Gorrath grab onto Dren's lower jaw in such a rough manner made her stand and rush to grab onto Gorrath's arm. Her eyes were shut from the dizziness. "No wait!" he stared at her "He didn't do anything wrong, he saw I that my nose was bleeding and was forcing me to go rest" she explained as quickly as she could, "I wasn't going to hurt her, my lord" Dren chocked out. Gorrath dropped Dren and he couldn't have gotten out there faster. Kira breathed a sigh of relief before she released Gorrath's arm and fell to her knees. Gorrath caught her. "I'm sorry" she whispered, "It was just a misunderstanding, no one has to die" he held her close to himself, gently holding her as he breathed, seeing that had scared him. It reminded him far too much of the hell his mother had gone through. He'd get the Commander to make something like a panic button for her. If she were in danger from being harmed from his men, she could push it and either the Commander or he would be able to rush to help. 

"Damn you" he whispered he didn't need this, why was the scientist such eye candy? Couldn't she have been some gritty old wind bag and not a beautiful temptress? She fell unconscious after a few minutes from the pain and her world spinning as Gorrath held her as they knelt on the floor. Gorrath placed her carefully back into bed and cleaned her nose from the blood, her breath was strained and her features would twitch from smaller waves of pain. Damn you

later that night after Gorrath had spoken to the Commander about the panic button idea, he had gone to bed. His sleep was plagued by nightmares and then it moved into a dream, something pleasant and a woman's smile…

Kira had received the panic button after a few days from the Commander and he explained to her what the two buttons did. The small blue button was to contact him, the Commander if she needed some assistance or other smaller matters, and the big red button he told her was directed to Gorrath; he explained that if she felt like her life was threatened by any of the men aboard the ship, she was to push it. She asked why Gorrath had reacted in such a violent manner and after a while of the Commander thinking over whether he should tell her or not, he sighed and told her Gorrath's story. She listened as best as she could with her headache and she felt admiration for Gorrath, he changed because his mother had suffered and it ended up making him lead his people. She felt herself respect him even more.  
Kira braved through her pain like a warrior and didn't require pushing the panic button anytime soon. And by the time she was almost healed she was on the final three components, she had asked Gorrath for some blood to get DNA for the Time drive, he eagerly pricked his finger to get her what she required. Once she managed to programme it to work only for him –and as a safety precaution, to work for her as well, which took a bit more time—she began working on the power source's containment. She held the precious stone and spoke to it softly, asking it to break off a small piece of itself for the Time drive. After an hour's meditation, it worked. The chipped piece glowed warmly as she thanked it and placed it in the containment. When Gorrath heard that she was working on the final piece, he didn't leave her side, pacing back and forth and leaning over to see what was happening. She was building its 'face' with a "TIME, DATE, YEAR, LOCATION, PLANET, and where in the galaxy to pin point where and when he wanted to go." She felt a bit flushed with having him breathing down her neck every now and then and she knew that telling him to sit down and wait would only earn her a headache from his yelling. She put the final piece into place and it glowed a luminous blue.

She was installing it to Gorrath's console and everyone aboard the war ship waited eagerly. They were going home. She explained to Gorrath what the Time drive required to work. She also explained that the blue button was a ''redo'' if something were to go wrong, he would push it and they would be sent back into time where they were previously before using it, they'd keep all memory, provided they were within the Time drive's bubble. And that it'll prevent history from changing, it'll prevent the time flux from crumbling. And the red button was to go ahead with the date he had set. And without even a seconds thought. He typed in the day they were attacked and the men watched as the device glowed a bit brighter and the exterior of the ship held blue streams of light as a bubble formed about the ship and suddenly, they all watched as a giant gold warship blew chunks from their world. Kira's face fell in horror and took Gorrath's hand and pushed the blue button. When they were back in empty space, she blew it and yelled at him  
"What the hell were you thinking? Going back then! Right then!" she indicated with both hands to the command decks window. "You know what? I don't even want to know why you chose that day. I want to know what you were planning on doing once we got there" she glared at him, her Time drive worked! But then he put them near danger and without a plan. Gorrath stood up and glared down on her before he stepped back and put a hand on her shoulder "It works the Time drive works" his glare turned to the place where they had just witnessed the destruction of their home. Each man that could see it remained silent, while the others waited patiently for orders. "Lord Gorrath" her voice was gentle and empathic.

"We have to destroy them." He said, "We need a plan" she urged him. He looked at her, every soldier looked at her and despite their depression each began clapping. She looked about confused "Why are you clapping" Gorrath smiled sadly at her "You did it Kira. You have given us a chance to save our home" she stood a bit shell shocked at their applauding before she became angered and hit Gorrath's hand off, they all fell in silence "Stop! Did you see the size of that ship? We need something to defeat them; nothing aboard this ship besides its destroyer canon can defeat them. But even then we need a clear path for that; there were millions of them spilling out the ship." Gorrath chuckled bemused "take a good look men, this woman has the warrior spirit! Let's take that for ourselves." He turned on the ships speakers

"MEN! The Time drive works! Over time of losing our homes, our families, our wives we had lost ourselves! Bring back the warrior spirit that helped us defeat those who abused us for too long! For Too long we have been held back fighting a losing battle. Not this coming one! This next battle will be one of a kind! None shall forget! Roar your freedom! Let's take back our homes!"…. he paused "OR SO HELP ME I'LL HAVE ALL YOUR JAWBLOCKS!"

Gorrath made Kira sit down in the rec room, Kira was stubborn despite her injuries she worked and pulled through. She had done what Gorrath had asked of her and he had no way of thanking her yet. She still got terrible headaches that would leave her useless by the toilet and Gorrath didn't want her there, not after what she had done. "Kira! Sit still!" she fidgeted with her thumbs angrily "No, there's much to be done! I can't waste time like this!" she held her side as she got up, Gorrath was mindful of her healing rib as he got up and grabbed her "Stubborn woman obey your King" she looked at him and they shared their glares before she gave in. 

"sorry, it's just that I can't allow your home to be destroyed, and watching it won't help." She breathed out softly, he caressed her cheek lightly "Our home, you are my top scientist. Kira, now sit down and listen to me" she sighed and went to sit down "You have done what I had asked of you almost a year ago." He sat down "You need to relax, heal. We have the Time Drive. Now we can prepare for war" she shook her head. "No" he leant back "elaborate" she thought "I'll create a window for the Time drive. So that we can see whenever in time, I'll create a something so that I can travel in that space and see that ships defences and see what it has and what I can do to build to defeat its defences" he stared at her, flabbergasted, she was already planning on more projects to defeat the enemy, right after finishing one. "You have a mind of a strategist" he murmured "I've been around" she stood up and he went and grabbed hold of her "Where are you going?" he asked, he wasn't done talking to her "I need to start building that window so that I can build our defences." She looked him up and down. "Note to self, design Lord Gorrath better armour" she pulled out his grip easily as she stalked her way back down to her chamber to write down what she needed to create that window. She knew the way through the ship to her room and each man that happened to pass her, quickly moved aside. She held a look of determination that said "this is a woman on a mission"

Gorrath stood and watched her leave, what was his luck that he'd find a brave woman who happened to be a scientist, who wanted to save his home worlds just as much as he did. Dammit. She was dangerous, a beautiful temptress, he hoped that whatever he was feeling in his chest wasn't what he thought it was. I'm in trouble

Dren brought her warm tea and soups; she explained it was less messy and easier to eat while she worked on the oracle window. He didn't mind, it gave him a reason to be near her. One late afternoon she sat holding her head and Dren had got her tea for her "Hey, how's your head" she took the tea and took small sips, "Still temperamental I'm afraid" she breathed out sadly, Dren reached out and combed his fingers through her hair on the left side of her head. He wasn't wearing his armour since it needed to be repaired after Kaman had accidentally shot him in the back. And he took advantage of having to being able to feel the texture of her hair and skin. It was smooth and pleasant, she was aware of what he was doing and fingered the panic device in her pocket but as a few minutes passed, and all he did was play with her hair she removed her hand from her pocket and focused on her tea.   
"You're so beautiful" he breathed and she paused drinking her tea to look at him; he had such a dreamy look on his face. "Dren" she was about to move his hand away from her hair when he tipped her chin towards him and she was silenced. The kiss was light but enough to startle her as he pulled away "I've been meaning to do that to you for a while now" her eyes widened and he exhaled. "I know that I shouldn't have stolen that kiss from you. But I fear that I won't get another chance to do that." he sat down, away from her, she recollected herself quicker than he had thought "I was this close to calling Lord Gorrath" she indicated with her index and thumb and the distance between them said that she was seconds from doing it. He gave a small nod "I'm glad you didn't… He'd kill me, for sure" he rubbed the back of his neck "Why did you do that" he looked at her face, it was hard and unyielding.

"Because I'm falling in love with you. Each time I see you I feel light and stupid. Each time I resist the urge to hold you it makes me bite my tongue. Each time I see a stray lock of hair in your face, I resist the urge to put it back in place. Each time you work passionately I can feel your determination and it drives me insane not to kiss you each time you smile or laugh" he looked at her, half hoping she'd stop him and kiss him back, he half hoped she'd say something similar but when her face lost emotion and she sighed looking away with an empty expression he felt like an asshole "It's okay… Kira. I'm not expecting you to feel the same for me" He sighed "I Just wanted you to know that, I'm here for you. That I care deeply for you and that… I'm thankful you didn't call the War master" he looked at her disconcerted features and he frowned pitifully "Please refrain from 'stealing' anymore' kisses', it's not normal for me" he nodded "I understand," sadly he didn't understand why it wasn't normal for her "I'll leave you be." He got up and left. Stupid stupid stupid!

It was late and Gorrath walked back with her to the Command deck to put the Oracle window on the Time drive. And he sat down on his throne while she instructed him on how it worked. He pushed the yellow button and the Oracle window lit up with a bright yellow as he typed in the day and activated it. It had yellow blue and green on the screen before it revealed his world being destroyed. She took the control stick and navigated the Oracle to the golden ship, locking onto the drones and the weaponry of the ship. After an hour of each of them having a turn with the Oracle as they each wrote down what they saw was important and took notes of their fighting patterns. She connected the Oracle window to the main Command window and the screen being far larger provided more information. By the time the ship woke Gorrath and Kira had all the notes and ideas of what could be done. She had plenty of light bulb ideas while watching Gorrath use the Oracle to glide over his enemy's ship and she scampered out while the men pilled in, they all moved aside and watched her go. The Commander and Gorrath and other men started to plan strategies and Gorrath went back and forth with Oracle, watching them arrive and then watching them destroy their home world, Gorrath felt a fire in his chest.

He kissed her passionately, she gripped onto him and her claws dragged down his back. Her hair was sprawled about the pillow as he drew her close. The feel of her beneath him, the sight of her in such a hot state made him breathless. The feel of her breath on his neck, the sound of her gasps and pleasurable moans in his ear  
Gorrath awoke from the all too vivid dream and stared into the darkness of his room, he panted, he was covered in sweat. 

Why did he dream that, with her, with all the chaos that was going on as the ship prepared for war? He sat up and wiped his face. Dammit all! Now he wouldn't be able to even look at her without having those images come up in his sight. He growled, frustrated as he threw the nearest thing to fly into the door.- Which was a pillow… and all it did was let out a fluff of mess as it tore- Dammit, I just have to wait and destroy them and then I'll be home and everything will… wait a second!

Gorrath had been too startled from his thought that he forgot to put on his armor, he still wore his black pants and tank shirt as he barged in on her room "KIRA!" he roared making her drop her tea and back away into her desk "What will we do after we destroy the enemy? What of my younger self? What if I run into my younger self! What will happen!" he roared in her face and she visibly shrank from fear, she trembled and her eyes were wide, her breathing had ceased as she stared at him. Gorrath having seen what fear he had created in her made him shut up and backed away from her, he forgot that she was a slave that was often abused and he sighed regretting his sudden intrusion and outburst.   
"Sorry Kira. I didn't attend to frighten you" he rose his eyes to her and saw her breathing roughly as she shrank to the floor; he carefully went to her, unsure on what to do to console her. He saw blood drip onto the floor and he quickly grabbed a cloth and lifted it to her face to wipe away the blood and as he did he also saw strained tears as she struggled to regain herself. "Kira" He breathed and pulled her into an embrace she was stiff and ridged against him. 

"I'm such a fool, please calm down" he could feel her heart beat through him, how hard and uneven and fast it was. He breathed into her neck "Kira… Feel my heart beat, steady yours. You need to relax" he urged her and she pushed herself away from him and he released her slowly, her right arm was raised to defend herself as she backed away from him, her eyes were shut, waiting to be hit. Memories burned in front of Gorrath's eyes of a woman he had seen do exactly what she was doing and he felt terrible. "Kira I won't hurt you." He attempted to reach her as he slowly and gently took her raised arm and pushed it down as he reached for her face with the cloth. Her nose still bled and he lightly dabbed the cloth to her nose and … lips. Gorrath violently urged away that dream to the very back of his mind. She slowly looked back at him and the look of sorrowful pain and fear that shone in her eyes made his heart lurch.  
"I'm sorry Kira. I should've known better" she slowly nodded and relax slightly she placed a hand to her face as she released a calming breath and took the cloth from him. She sat with her back to her bed and Gorrath slowly joined her and he rubbed his brow. "Well… that was terrifying" she stated as she tended to her nose. She had feared that he was about to harm her, the way he approached her was so similar to that of the brutes from her past. Thankful that he hadn't done anything to harm her, it made her feel more confident in him. Gorrath reached out and wiped away some of her tears, she looked at him the fear draining from her "Now that you're not so…ah" she frowned as she searched for words "idiotic, loud, foolish." Gorrath threw in words for her "what were you going on about before you made me spill my tea" she pointed to the broken cup "There can't be two 'Gorrath's at the same time" he started and she replied with an "ah, I see" she yawned "Well the universe will attempt to fix itself, so if you were to say, touch your younger self, you'll likely merge and become one." He thought on it "And what will happen after that?" she hummed, "I don't know, I'll have to have more tea to think clearly" she looked at him with an accusing grin and he laughed "I think we both could do with something warm to drink" she scoffed at him "What made you wake up with that thought?" he stared wide eyed at the door "A dream" he kept his eyes away from her and she blinked a couple times "It's an important question, I can see why you barged in here all crazy like in your pajamas." She held the cloth to her nose, blasted nose bleed. He looked about himself surprised "So… are you going to call someone to bring us tea or what?" she asked with a bit of attitude, losing her tea, then getting scared out her brackets and now an irritable nose bleed, she had a right to be cocky

After she received her tea and she sat with Gorrath in the rec room she carefully thought through what could happen if his younger self were near him. "You'll merge with your younger self, I'm uncertain if it'll be painful or not… also, uncertain if you'll keep your memories of this life" she indicated to him "I'm not sure if you'll regain your youth or completely replace your younger version…" she shook her head "It's all un tapped territory" he hummed "When my warship was dragged into these Earthers past.

I had discovered my enemy's gene line and I attempted to assassinate her great, great grandmother. I failed to do so. Much to my dismay" She just looked at him as he went through his memories. "One thing is for certain, Lord Gorrath. None of us can risk death. If you were to die, your younger version wouldn't know what to avoid in the future which would be troublesome for your people. We need to be careful about keeping your younger selves alive and unharmed as well. Each man aboard the ship, I personally think that each of you should merge with their younger versions before we engage the enemy" he thought on it "You will stay out of the battle, I won't risk losing the best scientist I have ever come to acquire" he kept his gaze on her, Images of her flashed before him, breathless.

She looked down at her cup "I don't plan on dying after coming this far either my Lord… But, in the case that I do end up being killed, don't turn back time to save me" he stared at her appalled and she gave him a steady stare "You have one chance to merge with your younger version. If you keep jumping back and forth in time and merging with yourself each time, you may just break the barrier and destroy your chances at saving your people… and if by chance, you haven't merged with your younger version. I do die and the battle has been lost, then go back, but if you have merged with your younger you, don't. Don't take that risk. Think about who would end up replacing my death. The universe will order itself, saving me puts it out of balance and you might die in my place and then what? We're in the past and won't be able to go back" she lied but as far as he knew it was only truth and he growled and leaned back into his chair "Don't you dare get into trouble in this coming battle, I'd hate myself for all eternity if I lost you" she smiled warmly at the war master "Hey, look on the bright side. In that time, I haven't even been born yet. Your people are thousands of years old, you'll still be able to find me in that Terra field one day" he narrowed his eyes. "Finding you again won't be so easy" she looked down "I'm not that important Lord Gorrath. Perhaps my destiny was just to help you save your species" he glared at her and then his expression softened and he sighed "You are more important than you realise Kira" she stood up with a small smile "But hey, that's all theory. We don't know the outcome of the battle yet. Maybe no one dies and those jerks just blow up" she winked at him as she walked out, he followed her.

The next days and nights were a bussle with activity and Dren and Kaman were surrounded by their fellow men, handing them each idea's to hand over to the scientist to approve. Dren wasn't sure if even half of these new things they wanted could even be made possible. He went to the Commander to inquire about these new upgrades and he told Dren to hand it all back and to them, to instead write down what they need for their current mechs and the ships reinforcements. Gorrath had already set course for market galaxy, they would need to stock up on much to be prepared for the coming war.  
Kira had already started drawing up blue prints for their drones so that lives would not be lost. Gorrath had told her that many men aboard would be able to build the drones.  
The next blue print was of a shielding device, to protect the planets; she told Gorrath that they should arrive back in time a few days before the enemy ship arrived so that they could be placed up over each planet. When he asked what would be the power source would be she looked down at the precious stone in her hand and he understood.  
Dren had asked Kira if she would be willing to draw up upgrades for the mechs and she said she could.  
Gorrath's new amour-  
Gorrath's improved mech-  
War ships defences-  
Men's mechs-  
planetary shields 3x-  
Warships war hammers improved-  
Destroyer improved-  
Warships shielding improved-  
Drones-  
Gorrath looked at all the blue prints she had drawn up as she sat with a ragged cloth to her nose and he scolded her "You should have rested more, now that we have the Time drive, we can work at a pace more reasonable than rushing through them" she shrugged "It's already done" he narrowed his eyes at her "was it worth all the nose bleeds?" he could see her eyes smile "In part I suppose" he shook his head "You're a workaholic" she laughed, it was pleasant and it lightened the atmosphere in the room "I've never had a chance to be one before you found me " Gorrath grinned as he looked through the blue prints again, she went to stand by him as she cleaned her nose and shoved the bloodied rag in her pocket. She took out – Gorrath's new armor- planetary shields 3x- "These are mine to work on, the men can do the rest" Gorrath looked at the thick set of blue papers; the one with the most work was his new armor. The Commander slithered in then with his own stack of papers, placing them on the table as Gorrath and Kira stared at the large pile "What does all that involve Commander?" the Commander wiped his brow "The men's requests and their own ideas." He growled and Kira took a step away with her blue prints in hand as she hugged it to her chest. "It seems like the two of you have reading to do" Gorrath said as he stood up with the remaining blue prints "Wait what?" he grinned as Kira turned to face him, "You and the Commander are the only ones aboard the ship that will be able to see if any of these ideas and requests are worthwhile" her mouth fell open "But- I have to start with these!" he chuckled "Take a seat and get comfortable Kira. You have much reading to do" the Commander raised a hand "And what will you be doing War Master?" Gorrath indicated to the blue prints "Giving these to the men to get in groups to start writing down exactly what they require to build these" he waved the blue paper in the air as he left the room, the door hissing shut behind him. "Jerk" Kira mumbled as she sat down with a huff. She set her blue prints on the side as she grabbed a paper and read it –"something to make the mech's seating more comfortable…?" she looked at the Commander "If it's stupid we can throw it away" he gave her a large shredding bin. "Oh joy"

Gorrath had handed out the blue prints and he sat in his office with his head in his hands, each night he dreamt of her. Her smiling, laughing and the ones that made him swallow and made his heart pound, he was thankful that each time he wound up alone with her he kept his hands to himself; he made sure that he always wore his amour when near her for the temptation to feel the texture of her hair and skin was far too much to resist. He was weak for her and the thing that made him not trust himself with her was that he was starting to lust after her and that was the last thing he needed. He was thankful that she often had a cloth or a rag over her face to tend to her nose, for it hid her lips, her smile. He swallowed; just the thought of kissing her had made his heart beat increase.  
-


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Progress for Captain Dren?  
and downhill for our Warmaster Gorrath?

Chapter4

His hands moved about her hair, her lips kissed him deep and tenderly, her legs moved over his hips and her tail curled around his thigh. His hands moved down the curve of her waist and he pressed hungry kisses to her neck. She brought him closer. Her eyes full of longing, full of love and desire for him. He looked about her naked form beneath him, how appealing it was. His heart pounded as he moved within her, her body reacting to his touch with moans and squeals of delight as her hands gripped onto him as they made love  
He woke up and instantly growled at himself. His hands went to cover his face. 

"DAMMIT!" He roared as he threw the blankets off and stormed into shower to have the icy water cool the heat and sweat off him. His nightmares had been replaced by the growing desire within him. Gorrath was starting to crave her presence, her voice, her touch. It had been months since she had given him that message and he felt that if she caught him rubbing his neck she'd be inclined to give him another message. But he didn't know how he'd react to her touches now, especially because of his current string of dreams of her. He swallowed and clenched his jaw. Each time he woke remembering what he did in each dream he found himself unable to relax. This war better consume him, he was a danger to her. War, he had to think of only war!

He stalked through the warship watching each group of men compiling a list of supplies. They were nearing the market sector and the sooner they all started with building the better.  
The Commander was walking Kira back to her room; it looked like they had chosen quite a few of the men's ideas as they each had a stack of paper in their arms. Kira looked annoyed and tired and the Commander didn't seem any different. He felt himself actually glaring at her, the frustration and irritation from his dreams of her had begun to make him sour at the mere sight of her. He was pleased that she hadn't seen him as she entered the elevator and disappeared behind its doors.

He refused to check on her after that and when she required his presence for measurements for his armor, he declined it and put it off. The Commander had told her that he was in his bad moods and that it was best that she put off that project for later. She handed Dren a list of supplies she needed for the shielding and Gorrath's armor and Dren went to hand it to the Commander whom was handling all her supplies while Gorrath remained out of sight. 

Instead of sleeping he found himself stalking through the Corridors and passage ways on the ship. He didn't want to sleep in case it gave him another accursed desire dream. He would rather have the nightmares than those. He saw the corridor that would bring him to the labs, where she was no doubt hard at work. He hadn't seen her for a couple of days now, he'd check on her, that's all he'd do. He wouldn't stay to chat and he wouldn't stay to nap either. He stomped irritated in that direction and saw Dren leaning on the door frame looking inside the lab, Kaman not to be seen. Dren heard the loud bang of steps and saw Gorrath's angered approach, his eyes widened and he bowed on his knee as Gorrath went in. She stood up instantly and gave him a bow "Evening My Lord" she greeted and he growled as he glared at her "Shut up" she swallowed startled and lowered her gaze as she returned to work "How is this project going?" he asked sourly and she replied timid and carefully "Good War Master" he growled and she attempted to shrink behind the base of the planetary shield. Her heart beat fell as fear moved within her. Gorrath growled lowly "Your supplies will be restocked soon" he stalked out after that.

She was afraid to look up after he left, what had pissed him off this time? Dren had noticed that after a few minutes after the angered King had left that Kira hadn't attempted to move, her eyes peeled to the table, her hands still. He went to her side "Don't worry " Dren attempted to console her as she breathed slowly. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a light squeeze "Come, Kira. I'll take you back to your room and bring you some tea" she nodded slowly as she moved from her seat "What had pissed him off?" he saw her concerned expression "I'm not sure, he loses his temper easily"

She was disturbed by Gorrath's rage and asked Dren to keep her company. He eagerly complied, he had brought a tea pot for her and they shared tea and talked about simple things, Dren was very happy to have made her laugh. The fear had dwindled away some after it. Making her lighter, it was easy to tell when she was disturbed and fearful; it appeared easily on her behaviour and mannerisms. When she was talkative he found it was easier to get her to smile.

He chuckled as he lent on the chair "Yeah, Kaman always loses at kings" he watched her shake her head as she sat on her bed. Her legs curved about her and the tip of her tail moved up and down. She leant on the window frame and she gazed outside at the colourful dust clouds. He felt himself fall for her even more at the faraway look in her eye "You really are so beautiful" he whispered breathless making her look at him with an innocence in her eyes "Why?" he frowned at her before he smiled broadly "Haven't you looked in a mirror?" she frowned bemused at his comment "You may be used to your features Kira, but you have no idea how beautiful you are to a stranger" he said dreamily and she scoffed at him "oh please don't get all mushy, I have no idea how to react to mushy" she had a charming smile play on the corners of her lips and he smiled before a frown took his features "Kira" she looked back at him and saw his conflicted expression "I know that certain things make you uncomfortable and I know what I'm about to ask of you is going to be uncomfortable" she frowned at him, becoming cautious, her tail stilled.

"May I kiss you?" he looked at her longing deeply and she remained still "Why is 'kissing' or more so 'kissing me' so important to you Dren?" he smiled sheepishly at her question, "It's a way of showing admiration… love. It's what some people do when they love each other" he waited for her to reply or react to him but she just looked at him, studying him. And after a while she looked down "How unusual" she stated as she took a sip of her tea. "What's unusual?" he asked her, there was a firm look about her. "Your request is unusual. Kissing to show love and affection? How strange." He felt worry fill him "What did you think I was doing when I first kissed you?" he asked, eager to find out, to know her more "I didn't know what you were doing; it made me uncomfortable since you were in my space." She looked at him and saw his concern "Have you never been in love before Kira?" she frowned at him "I was a slave before Gorrath found me. I didn't have the luxury to discover such things" he sighed as he ran a hand over his head  
"May I?" he wanted to be the one to show her what it was like to be loved and to fall in love "Sorry what?" he smirked "May I kiss you?" she half smiled and he moved from his chair to her bed and she eyed him carefully "Kira" he looked in her eyes deeply as he touched the side her face "Must I ask a fourth time?" he chuckled, and put on a handsome tone of voice to lure her in. Her pupils thinned slightly as she looked away, uncertainty filling her "Kira" He whispered as he closed the space between their faces. "D-Dren, I-uh" her heart beat increased slightly as he pressed his cheek to hers and her hand went to his chest, unsure if she wanted to have him so close to her. His eyes were closed as he breathed in her scent, it was sweet and as he exhaled, his warm breath fell over her neck, sending chills down her spin. He pulled away to remove his gloves and put them aside. She watched him do it and he looked back at her, the dreamy look over his expression held easily and he saw her uncertainty. He smiled at her warmly as he reached up and touched her face, her skin was cold and his hot hand moved to the back of her head as he pulled her plat forward and began undoing it. He watched her breathing, "It's okay" he whispered softly once the plate was undone he moved her hair behind her and he looked at her as he played with a lock of her hair. Her hair now waved about her in romantic curls and he became breathless, she watched his expression and how it looked like he had become lost and after a few moments he returned and moved his hand to her chin, his thumb softly outlining her lower lip His eyes were half closed "Close your eyes and follow my lead" he whispered and he watched as she slowly complied, her eyes closed and he leaned into her and kissed her gently.

His heart was pounding as he moved his lips against hers and she kissed him back softly. His free hand took the cup from her and put it on the window's barrier and he moved her hands slowly to his neck, his hands glided from her arms to her back, one hand moved behind her head as he slowly pulled her closer to him. His heart pounded and fluttered as he became light headed and dizzy. He deepened the kiss, slowly introducing his tongue to part her lips, he could feel by her hands on his neck what she thought of it, she was still uncertain as her lips were parted and a surprised muffled moan escaped her and it made him excited.   
As he played with her tongue he moved her arms behind his neck as he pulled her nearer. Oh how he would've loved not to have his armor on as it restricted the feel of her body against his. He kept the kiss slow for a while longer, luring her to him. His hand moved down the curve of her body for a few seconds before returning to hold her gently to him.  
The heat from his hands warmed her and his kiss… she didn't know what to think, she could hardly think at all. She released a surprised gasp as he nipped her lower lip, she didn't follow back on that since he didn't give her chance as he released a purred growl against her lips. And after a while she pulled away, the heat that radiated off him became too much for her as she took in deep breaths to cool herself down. He breathed heavily himself and he smiled broadly at the flushed look on her face. Her hands slipped down to rest against his amour "Was that painful?" he inquired deeply and she looked at him "You bit my lip" he chuckled as he held her to him. "Do you like the way I kissed you?" she looked away embarrassed and he snuggled into her neck with a soft deep throated laugh. 

The heat of his breath on her neck made her draw in a sharp breath, "let me go, your heat is going to make me expire!" he released her as she stood up and she kept her gaze from him, he felt pride and fluttering in his chest as he put his gloves back on. He went up behind her and embraced her, his armour cooling her off she swallowed slightly as she kept her eyes to the floor, he pressed a kiss to her cheek as he released her and made her face him, her pupils were slightly dilated and he looked at her deeply as his eyes closed and he pressed his lips to hers, becoming very pleased that she returned it. He pulled away slowly and he whispered against her lips "Sleep well my love" before he left her standing in her room. Her hand to her lips as she remembered that she needed something cold to cool her heated blood before she'd get another nose bleed

Dren walked in his room smiling broadly and after a moments of remembrance of what he had accomplished he put his armour on the rack and put the steamer on to clean off her scents, last he wanted was one of the men discovering it, he showered and went to bed. That was the best thing he had managed to make happen. He laughed unexpectedly in the darkness; if it weren't for Gorrath's sudden cold demeanour towards her he would've never had the chance to lure her into kissing him. Images of the memory flashed warmly into his mind as he drifted off into slumber, her shy uncertain look, and her flushed and heavy breaths. The feel of her lips and the taste of her and the smell of her it all were so perfect.

Couple of nights later; she kept her gaze away from Dren and Dren just smiled cockily as he stood with his back to the lab and Kaman- finally sober from the nights of kings- stood with a hangover and he didn't think of why Dren was grinning. He assumed it was because he had lost at kings that his comrade was grinning. And when Gorrath stomped in with some soggy blue prints and dropped them on the table angrily she stared at her blue prints and looked at Gorrath

"Evening-" he growled silencing her and a foul smell made her nose wrinkle and she stood up and away from the table and Dren turned and watched as he heard the scrape of her chair and the smell reach him and Kaman as well. "You will need to redraw up the drones blue prints. Some men have trouble keeping their alcohol down" she gawked, did he just put a puke on her working station "Why did you put that on my table!" he growled at her "deal with it!" she became appalled and revolted "No! Get that off my station!" Gorrath slammed a fist into the table, crushing her shielding device and cracking the table in half. She backed away into the wall as fear washed over her features. Dren became conflicted as he took a step towards her, becoming protective when he saw the fear in her.

Gorrath stepped over the table and went to her and Dren frowned angrily as he went in to stop Gorrath. But as Gorrath came within her arms reach she slapped him and it echoed in the room she instantly pulled her hand back and shook it painfully, what was he made of? "What is wrong with you!" she screamed at Gorrath and he returned his eyes to hers and saw the pained tears brim her eyes, threatening to spill. Kaman moved away from the door and Dren stepped between them. Dren kept a firm glare as he looked at the war master. Gorrath was stunned at her slapping him, he touched his left cheek as it stung and then he looked back and saw that she was behind Dren as he kept Gorrath away from her. Gorrath took a step back and heard something crunch beneath his foot . 

He turned his look to Kaman who stared at him and before Kaman could run for it, Gorrath had moved so fast that Kaman found himself on the floor as Gorrath closed and locked the lab doors. Kira still shook her hand painfully, and Gorrath watched as Dren took her hand in his and inspected it. She hissed at his touched. "Gah I think I broke my hand on your face" she looked at Gorrath and he heard a low growl come from Dren. "Possibly, shaking it as you did didn't help either" she looked at him "How was I supposed to know that Lord Gorrath's bones are like metal!" Gorrath growled irritably "Be silent" they all looked at him, Dren's look was harsh. "Why were you so peeved Lord Gorrath?" he looked at her an apologetic and annoyance graced his features "My men, slacking off and playing drinking games when they should be preparing" Gorrath sat down, he felt so stupid and he noticed how Kaman had crawled away "So you attended to attack her?" Dren stated coldly and Gorrath met his eye just as cold "No, I didn't intend to hurt let alone attack her" Gorrath growled and she raised her free hand   
"Techniquelly-" Dren looked at her "You don't have to defend him Kira" she narrowed her eyes and Gorrath growled, he could see the connection, when did these two get so close "He didn't hurt me. Just broke my-"she looked at her table and her project with a sigh "planetary shield…" she paused her lips "Don't take his wrath lightly Kira. That table could have been you" Gorrath clenched his fists tightly, "Dren, he wouldn't have hurt me" he shook his head at her "He was about to attack you!" she tipped her head from side to side "Well, he broke my station that is now covered in someone's barf and I broke my hand. Eventful." Dren stared at her "Kaman! Get out from behind that table!" They looked at Gorrath then to where Kaman was hiding. 

He slowly showed himself and Gorrath looked between the three of them "What happened here today doesn't leave" He looked at Kira and his expression softened significantly as guilt ran through him "I'll speak to you later Kira" Dren narrowed his eyes at Gorrath, there was no way he was going to allow him near her after this. "Take her to the infirmary" Gorrath said before he unlocked the door and left. "What the hell Dren" They looked at Kaman "You have some iron balls to stand up to Lord Gorrath" Dren wasn't amused, "Gorrath attended to harm you Kira. I have been working for him for a long time, I know when his about to snap and he was close to doing that just then" she looked down at her hand, Gorrath may have looked enraged but she didn't want to believe that he'd hurt her, not after all she had accomplished.

When the doctor asked what had happened to her hand she told him that something heavy fell on her hand, Dren kept silent. Thankfully her wrist wasn't broken but only sprained. Dren had made Kaman watch her door with him to prevent Gorrath from speaking with her alone.

She sat in a warm bath as she eased her mind from a headache, her tail hung outside the bath curled about the stone and it glowed soothingly in the darkness. She'd stay in there, it was easier and it was quiet. With the bathroom door locked and the lights off. It helped her ease her mind and muscles as she massaged her right hand tenderly.

Gorrath sat in the darkness of his office a hand to his cheek where she had slapped him, he was dangerous to her, even though he broke her table and her so called prototype he wasn't going to hurt her. He sighed and glared, Dren and Kira looked far too close, something was amiss and he wondered when it started. Dren's protective demeanor and attitude spoke volumes. And the way they spoke to each other… he growled. Dammit, what options did he have at this point? Each night he dreamt of her and every hour of his waking hours she'd appear in his minds eyes and the men aboard the ship spoke highly of her and willingly in his presence. He could give into his desires and lure her close to him or he could keep resisting his desires and become far too easily annoyed. But he had to deal with Dren. He growled.

He didn't know why she defended his actions and dismissed his rage, she looked like she didn't want to believe what Dren was telling her and she looked at him with fear and confusion. He sighed; did she really break her hand on his face?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is slightly shorter. just feels right. Hope you enjoy. Please Review and Kudo and let me know what you think. good bad, weird or a secret pleasure.
> 
> "-cynical laughter with awkward sweat down my brow-"  
"who is reading this?!"   
Me in my head ("oh yeah I thought of this. one ugly crush made into fanfiction....")


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dren is caught red handed! or red lipped?
> 
> Gorrath's wrath rising steadily, will he take someone's jawblock today!?

Chapter5

They reached the market sector and men came and left in their mechs gathering as much supplies as possible. Kira had started to redraw the drone blue print, thankfully before the men soiled it they had gathered a list of what they needed. Dren refused to leave to gather supplies as he guarded her door, waiting for Gorrath to come talk to her. He didn't dare enter her room either; Gorrath might walk in and… well. He'll be killed. But he wouldn't go down without a fight. Gorrath sat watching the security cameras near her room and one footage caught his attention.

It was late and he watched as Dren lead her to her room, they exchanged a few words, she said something that made him smile. He left and she went into her room. A few minutes later he returned with a tea pot and two cups and he went in. the door had closed stopping his viewing of what had happened inside her room for the couple of hours. When the door opened he was walking away smiling broadly and he paused the video and zoomed in, she was staring after him, her hand to her lips…. Gorrath's eyes widened as he felt jealousy and rage burn within him. He stormed towards Dren when he found him guarding her door and before Dren could react; Gorrath had him on his chest as his foot dug into his back. 

Gorrath growled darkly as Dren coughed from the impact. Kira had heard the storm of steps and then a loud crash and went to check on what was happening. The door opened and she just saw Gorrath pull Dren by the arm and concern over whelmed her. "Lord Gorrath" he turned to look at her, Dren took the moments distraction to attempt to break out his hold, Gorrath only tightened his grip, crushing the armour on Dren's arm. "Kira, Go back inside" her eyes darted between them "My Lord?" Gorrath shoved Dren into the wall, making Kira's fear return. Dren growled as Gorrath forced him to his knees and pulled his arms behind his back and cuffed him. "Attempt to do something Dren and you'll be in the infirmary tending to a broken arm or leg" Gorrath growled in his ear as he shoved him to the floor. Dren looked up at Kira as Gorrath approached her. "Stay away from her" Gorrath heard him growl and all he did was glare back.

Gorrath looked at her hand and saw that it wasn't in a cast and he breathed a sigh of relief "I'm pleased to see that your hand isn't broken" she pulled her eyes from Dren and looked at Gorrath "I was pleased to find that out too" she said softly, "Kira, wait inside. Dren has a few things he needs to re-learn" Gorrath glared at him and Kira reached out and touched his arm "My lord-I…" he looked at her a little annoyed and he shushed her and gently pushed her inside before he locked her door.

He had dragged Dren to the rec room and shoved him to the floor as he pulled up the security footage. "Take a nice good look Dren." Gorrath growled. Dren looked up and his eyes widened "ah good, you recall what had happened that night then" Gorrath crossed his arms. Gorrath despised the fact that Dren was such a valued warrior or he would've removed his jaw block by now "You will tell me what you did to her and don't even think about lying. I can see the look on her face." Dren narrowed his eyes "No" Gorrath held a steady glare. "So bold" he muttered before he picked him up by his throat "You, out of all my soldiers. You should know what will happen if others see what I had seen. They will attempt to do what you do and you still endanger her!" Gorrath slammed him against the table. Dren held back his cry of pain from the force as his ears rung "I protected her from you! And I'll protect her from others!" Gorrath threw him into the wall "I wasn't going to harm her you insolent fool!" Dren stood up a bit wobbly and off balance, he pressed his back to the wall to hold himself up "Than what were you going to do!" Gorrath grabbed Dren's lower jaw and squeezed "You will cease acting on your desires, or your jawblock will be added to my collection" he threatened darkly "I love her" he said as he glared at Gorrath, making him pull back slightly. "I love her lord Gorrath. I'll die for her. " Gorrath slammed him into the wall before he released him and Dren shook his head as he forced himself to stand once more "I don't know why she protected your honour back in the labs but she fears you and if you kill me, her trust for you will crumble" Gorrath growled at him 

"You only have a nerve to speak to me in such a disrespecting manner because of her. Without Kira you'd still be kneeling down begging for mercy"  
Dren growled back "that may be but it doesn't change the fact that you almost killed her" Gorrath slammed his fist into Dren's gut, making him double over. "If I have to tell you one last time that I wasn't attending to harm her, attack her or kill her. I'll kill you! I was about to embrace her, you assuasive fool!" Gorrath kicked him again. "Seeing the fear I had caused in her made me want to embrace her and show her that I meant her no harm. But instead she slapped me and hurt herself!" Dren attempted to get back up and Gorrath pushed a foot down on his chest "I haven't place one harmful hand on her, not once!" Dren coughed "If she hadn't slapped you, you would've harmed her. Deny it all you want- I know you Lord Gorrath, I know what you look like before you kill someone" Gorrath leaned down and pulled him up by his lower jaw "My back was to you, how'd you know what I looked like before she slapped me"

Dren fell unconscious then and Gorrath dropped then un-cuffed him and left him there as he made his was to her. Now he was going to get the full story of what really happened that night from her. And he'd probably break something after hearing it. He knew from the recording that Dren had kissed her; it was clear by the smug look on his face and the shocked look on hers.  
He calmed himself before he knocked on the door as he opened it and walked in. She stood holding her right hand; a worried look took her face. "Now, Kira…" he started and made her sit on her bed as he pulled a chair and sat at a good distance away from her "Tell me what Dren had done " he was firm and he could see that she became fearful "I won't harm you, or him. So long as you tell me everything" she nodded and told him  
Gorrath held his temper as she explained to the best of her ability of what Dren had lured her to do. And when she finished she sat still, waiting for him to explode. His fists shook at his side and he growled darkly, "Are you going to rip out his jaw block?" she asked in small tiny voice and Gorrath stood back up and sighed, pinching his brow. "No, you just saved his life by telling the truth." He wasn't too pleased with the turn of events, she had some liking to him and for a former slave and at her age to have that, dammit all "My lord" he turned back to her "Why have you been so irritable as of late?" he looked at her and changed the subject, he didn't want to delve into his grudging desires "Why did you protect my honour back in the labs?" she looked away and he noticed that she had become nervous and… shy… bashful?

"I-I didn't w-want to believe that you'd actually hurt me after all this time… After I had helped and done what you asked. I don't want to believe you'd do that." he felt himself lighten from the rage as she stuttered "You are different from the other war lords who had bought me or captured me. Unlike the others you were serious about wanting a Time drive and you were serious about letting me have my own room. I do get scared of you, especially when I see how strong you are" she looked at her hand "and your temper and what you do to keep your men in line. I understand that you see red and just lose it and back in the lab after you obliterated my station and project I was scared. 

But I…I-don't know what exactly had come over me when I slapped you" he stopped himself from grinning at her behavior, she was fiddling with her fingers and her head was lowered… it was adorable… "I respect you and that's more than any of the other war lords had ever got from me. I also… I admire you I-I'm thankful that You had found me when you did" she slowly raised her eyes to him and the blank look he had as he looked at her made her give him a small smile. He couldn't stop himself as he reached for her and pulled her into a warm embrace. She slowly returned it, not use to such actions "I'd never harm you. Not even in a fit of blind rage" he told her and she leaned against him. He started to let go of her slowly and looked at her and she smiled at him, "Thank you, for everything" she smiled shyly "at least no one died right?" He caressed her cheek as he looked at her, his heart beat had increased and it annoyed him "At least" he grinned slightly "Dren will be reassigned, I won't have him risk your life so he can fill in his selfish desires" Gorrath knew that he was just as selfish, but at least he hadn't lured her into a dangerous kiss.

After Gorrath had left her he went to the ships training hall and after he removed his armor he continued to beat the stuffing out of the punching bags. He was grateful that the ship was busy on other things than training in the facility as well. Otherwise a few men would become victims in a sparring match.

After a few days the men continued to build their defenses. Not one man aboard wasn't free to do their own things as they prepared for war. Gorrath had reassigned Dren and replaced him with one of the few men on board who didn't care for such sensations from anyone. An Asexual warrior now stood guarding her door and escorting her from the lab to her room. He hardly spoke and he had to be one of the most stoic men she had seen. The Commander had some trouble with getting her supplies and as a result she couldn't begin on the projects. Lord Gorrath had made himself scarce from her and still refused to be measured for his new armour. She sat in her lab at a different station, seeing that her previous one was destroyed. And she looked over the blue prints, seeing if she could improve them.

Dren was working on his mech, muttering to himself angrily as he added and improved on the design to what she had drawn up. "Yo!" he looked down and saw Kaman making his was to him "Finally sober are you?" he asked and Kaman laughed "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be guarding the pretty scientist?" Kaman asked as he poked around the tool box "I was reassigned" Kaman looked at his comrade who looked like he had eating something sour "Reassigned? Was it because you stood up to Lord Gorrath that you were shoved off?" Dren narrowed his eyes as he continued to work, it took a few moments for Kaman to realise exactly why Dren was no longer guarding her. And when he finally did realise it, his mouth fell open and he pulled on Dren's arm "What the hell are you doing" Dren snarled as Kaman pulled them to a quieter spot "Tell me everything" Kaman grinned like a mad fool and Dren giving into his friends stare, told him "Wow" Kaman laughed "Will you shut up." Dren started walking back when Kaman stopped him "Common, I'm sure we can make a plan to sneak you in to see her" Dren shoved him aside "No, I'll be dancing on his death line, Lord Gorrath will have my whole head" Kaman shook his head "Common" he looked about before he whispered "You love her, make a plan to at least see her. I'm sure she's bored without you" He winked and Dren shook his head "Go work on your mech Kaman." Kaman leaned against Dren's mechs heel "What if she falls in love with that new guy who's guarding her?" Dren paused in his work "It took a year for her to even like me enough to get that close to her. She won't fall so easily. Her heart is too guarded" Kaman tsk'ed him "You know we will be going to war soon, and that new guy will be protecting her…" He looked at Kaman "where are you going with this" Kaman grinned and then shrugged "You know what strange things happen while in the heat of battle. This guy may just sweep her off her feet and give into his demands" Dren grabbed him by his tendrils. "You're looking for a beating-  
"Men! Gather around so we can split supplies!" Dren looked at Kaman "You might just be willing to disobey Lord Gorrath, just so you can keep her" Kaman whispered and Dren shoved him down as he stomped off to join the line.

Gorrath was doing push ups when the Commander come in with a list "War Master, we'll need to make sure that after each project is complete that everyone gets fit for battle" He looked at Gorrath as he moved an arm behind his back "That is obvious Commander" He stood up and the Commander handed him a sweat towel "In fact when the men aren't working on the projects they should spare one another. Far too many of my men have delved into revelry. It's long overdue for my ship to return to being fearsome warriors and not lazy scums getting fat" The Commander nodded "Have you gotten her supplies yet?" Gorrath wiped his face and went to the drinking fountain "There is still some delays but not for much longer" The Commander squeaked out from behind his clip board, hiding his face as Gorrath turned to glare at him. "Commander" The Commander backed away "Not the face!"

She sat examining her blue prints once again, finding no new and better ways to improve the technology. After a while she gave an exaggerated sigh as she leaned back on her chair. Were they delaying her supplies on purpose just so she could 'relax' she rubbed her temples, sitting around was becoming boring. Then… she looked sadly out the window and watched the moon cross over. Being bored in her lab was something she'd have any day rather than sitting on an icy floor in a prison cell. Her life had changed dramatically since she had been found by the Glorft. Being a prisoner slave for her whole life; now a scientist… she looked at the closed lab door; a protected scientist… "How strange" she whispered softly. She never imagined that this is where she'd be in her future "Lady, it's time to go" she turned and looked at the guard and gave a small nod and followed him out.

She stood in the centre of her room and stared at her dwellings. She had definitely gone around that corner everyone spoke of. Life was completely different on the other side of that bend. She felt herself itch; all the scars and wounds long since shed still stung beneath her smooth scales, it felt strange to be doing this it was like she was living a fantasy dream in some far off realm. Her slave life still spun before her each time she shut her eyes, she hugged herself and willed the bad memories away. Gorrath was scary, in fact each of them were scary and strange. With how they acted it was hard to believe that any of them were slaves at all, especially Gorrath. She shivered as coldness ran down her spine and through her tail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still figuring out summary titles. 
> 
> and I thought the last chapter was short...   
geez
> 
> -insert worried brow with nervous chuckling-


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training, what a cliche' way to fall in love?   
Dren misses Kira (obviously)
> 
> who is her knew body guard?

Chapter6

Days later and the majority of the ship had all their needed supplies for the projects and when the Commander had told the War Master why it was so difficult getting her supplies was because the metal she was requesting was not in the system and they would have to travel to the nearest galaxy that did have it. 

Gorrath took the list from the Commander as he made his way down to her room, hoping that she hadn't gone to bed quite yet. He entered and saw her with a damp towel about her hair as she turned to look at him. "Morning My Liege" she gave a slight bow. 

He quiet liked the sight of her wet hair curling and waving about her but quickly moved on "Kira, why do you need such a hardened ore for your projects?" she blinked as she squeezed the towel on a few locks of hair "The Planetary-shields will need it because if they break or be blown up, your people will be in danger again. As for your armour, well, you don't want your arm or leg to be shot off, do you?" he narrowed his eyes "Don't use that tone with me Kira" she swallowed "Yes, my lord, sorry" she lowered her eyes. "Because you require such ore, your projects will be delayed until we can get to the nearest galaxy that does have it" she frowned and nodded "Forgive me Lord Gorrath I hadn't thought about the consequences, I was so caught up in being a scientist that I got over excited" he nodded as he looked at her list again "I don't want you to sit around any longer than you have been for the last couple of days, I'll see what can keep you occupied till then" he turned to leave "Um- My Lord?" he looked at her as her hand was slightly out stretched "I-I was thinking that- maybe you could train me to defend myself?" she looked up at him with small hopes, a brow rose at the thought and he hummed "Yes, I think that would be an excellent way to be sure that you're not totally helpless when confronted" she beamed at him with a large grin "we start tomorrow, the training hall will be vacant for us, rest well Kira. I will not go easy on you" she nodded "it wouldn't be training if it were easy… right?" he grinned "correct" and the door closed and he locked it as he left for other duties.

The next day- Gorrath really didn't go easy on her and she knew a few ways to defend herself and it proved useless against him. It was 'night' on the ship and most men were asleep. The training hall was large, giving her enough room to run away from him. He told her that he wanted to see how she'd react when cornered and about to be attacked. And so far he was not impressed and to show his displeasure in her fruitless efforts by avoiding combat, he pushed his foot on her back while she was down. She released an 'oomph' at the sudden pressure "That was pathetic Kira! If you were attacked by the enemy scum you would be victimised! What about that threat you gave me?" he lent down to her ear  
"What was it again? Oh, yes, you'll rip out my heart? How exactly were you planning on doing that when you can't even face me in combat?" she lowered her head and sighed "Please, my liege remove your foot from my back, it's hard to breathe" he did as she asked and she sat up "Was that an idle threat you gave me when we first met? Or a promise if I had been the fiend you assumed?" She rubbed her arms where it stung from his hits, even when she wore protective gear she still felt them "Actually what I said was "I'll eat your heart" and if you proved to be a fiend I probably would've done it a long time ago" she stood up and clicked her back "Still didn't answer my question Kira" she looked at him and the scrawl on his face as he glared down on her made her step back "it would've been a promise, but I'll not hold onto it" she chuckled nervously and he grinned "Again, Kira and this time. Try to at least land a hit and not run away" she took in a deep breath and nodded.

By the time it was 'morning' on the ship and she was in her room she felt like she was thrown into a wall with how tired she was. Gorrath had slowed down to let her hit him and even then all he did was appear amused by her frustration when she pulled her hand back and shook it furiously. "Are Glorft bones made of iron, geese!" she sat down on her bed as she massaged her tender muscles, the burn was alright she was used to that, but the speed and power behind every hit he landed on her had deterred her greatly. None of the other warlords or idiotic simpletons she had slaved under never had that type of might, even with his age; it appeared like it hadn't altered him. She'd have to ask the Commander for information of Glorft history. This was ridiculous, he taunted her and took pleasure at her expense and it enraged her! Yet because of that… certain might. It made her feel so tiny and fear had seeped where her rage stood. She held her head, she was thankful that her nose hadn't bled or her rib hadn't broken all over again.

"He was doing what?" whispered one man to the other over lunch "I heard it while I went to get my dinner, He was sparing against her in the training hall" the other one widened his eyes and Dren eyed the two gossiping men as he overheard their conversation. So Gorrath was training her… that'll leave her room unoccupied and he'd at least get a chance to speak with her, he shook his head. Was he really considering angering Gorrath further? He sat down and stared at his food, he missed her and Kaman was not helpful in the matter and speak of the devil: Kaman appeared next to him and sat down and looked at him "did you hear?" he rose a brow at him "Lord Gorrath has started training her in the hall, this would give you at least a chance to" Dren rolled his eyes "shut up Kaman" Kaman snorted "I'm just being a good friend is all" Dren sighed "I heard, and the news will spread quickly throughout the ship. Soon everyone will know" he took a bite of the meal bread.

She collapsed on her bed with a ragged sigh "Why did I ask Lord Gorrath to train me…?" she moaned into the pillow. They were two days away from getting her needed supplies and the rare ore. And it had been a few weeks since she had asked him to train her. She had improved in defending herself and she found that she had managed to handle his hits. He had toughened her up. But today had been a bad day. She thought that she'd managed to get him on the floor but it was swapped around. And he laughed when she had a fit from her failure, "who would of guessed that you're a sore loser" she mimicked him in a mock tone. "Sore loser my scaly hide" she mumbled.

Gorrath wiped his neck with a towel as he sat on the edge of is bed, since he started to spare and train her to defend herself his dreams of her had changed, it wasn't so lustful and infuriating. It had turned into pleasant and light dreams. To him it was like his mind was working backwards. Instead of getting to know her in the beginning, in his dreams it went straight to the lustful desires. And now that he was getting to know her, in his dreams it was like they had known the other their entire lives.

"Okay Lord Gorrath, I'm not losing today" she boasted and he just smirked at her boldness "Is that so, Kira?" she gave a firm nod and she raised her hands ready to attack or deflect if need be. They began circling each other waiting for the right moment to strike.  
By now a few men had managed to sneak in on the top floor to watch from the window in the gym. It had proved very entertaining and many of them bet of what she'd do next, she had surprised Gorrath a few times, though he didn't let her know that, but it certainly made for an interesting gamble, Kaman having found out about this pulled Dren in just so he could see her, even if she couldn't see him.  
Gorrath eyed her posture and noticed that it was smoother and she kept her body in a way where even if he did attack, she'd be able to dodge and deflect, she was waiting for him to make the first move. He grinned inwardly.

She had thought about what she had to do to finally win a sparring match against him when the idea hit her, she had watched his moves and failed to block a number of his attacks, she knew what she had to do. After two circles she saw a small glint in his eye and that was it, he was on to what she was playing. With a mask over her face, her grin was concealed.  
She moved as quickly as she could as she launched her first attack, narrowly missing Gorrath's gut as he turned. The grin that formed on his face as she skidded past him infuriated her and her tail betrayed her as it whipped back and forth behind her

"AH, that was so close. If you want to defeat me, you're going to have to do better than that"  
He grinned, if she had move slightly faster or if he had been closer she would have landed that kick. But he wasn't about to let her have such a small victory yet, he supressed a low chuckle as they began circling again, her tail gave her away, she was pissed.

She wasn't going to lose not this time she calmed herself as she watched him, her tail going still as it rose from the floor.  
Gorrath jumped straight for her and she moved out the way in just the nick of time, that kick would've slammed her to the floor. His attack didn't end there as his fist came hurdling towards her gut, she redirected it as she used his force against him and jumped over his arm, her tail hooked itself about his neck as her speed would pull him backwards. If Gorrath hadn't been paying attention, that is what would've happened, but he grabbed her leg and tail and flung her forward.

His release of her leg and tail allowed her to gain her equilibrium and land on her feet, though skidding backwards.  
Gorrath could see that she had improved well in the short time. She was stubborn and it made for an interesting match each time.  
She swore under her breath that was too close. She stilled her movements before she attacked again, this time with the shorter distance she kicked aiming for his head, his arm caught her leg and he grinned, her face soured as she used her left leg to kick herself out his grip. Twisting and spinning so that his grip was loose and she pushed her foot on his chest, hurling herself back. That certainly was new for Gorrath, he hadn't interpreted that.

The men behind the one way glass were laughing loudly and the betted drinks came round a few handing over their alcohol to another. Dren stood by the glass, arms crossed about his chest as he watched their movements, she had Gorrath off guard for a moment, if she were trained better she could have used that to kick under his legs and have him on the floor.  
Kira jumped forward then and did a turning kick for Gorrath's face, he blocked it with his arm and when she landed she punched for his gut, successfully landing two blows, though it stung for Gorrath, it didn't hurt enough to have him double over, but when she lunged upward past his blocking arm as she hit him in the throat, he held back the urge to cough as she hit his Adam's apple, the discomfort showed on his face and she took the opportunity to fall down and kick his feet from under him, he fell forward and caught himself and propelled himself backwards, away from her. He rubbed at his throat as he swallowed. She stood up and her hands on her hips, he didn't doubt that she was smiling under that mask.

The men quieted some and a few leaned forward "What just happened?" one asked "I don't know, I didn't see" said another and Kaman burst out laughing "She got Lord Gorrath in the throat!"  
He stood and gave her a small smirk "Your agility there was a good attempt. But you lack the power behind your attacks." He watched as her tail whipped behind her "Now you're just taunting me, admit it, I got you there" he gave her a one sided smirk, it was a good point to target but if she had hit a little but harder she would've had him coughing up a storm in attempt to reopen his pipes. "I admit that the points that you targeted were clever" He pointed to his solar plexus "Hitting someone here with enough force would weaken their lungs and the ability to breathe," He pointed to his throat "IF you had the necessary strength to back up these hits, you would've had me on my knees in attempt to breathe, but. Since I'm still standing and not on the floor, your attack failed" right after Gorrath said that she ran for him, her fist aimed straight for his face, again, her tail gave her away and he could divert her attack. He grabbed her fist and twisted it behind her back, his other hand by her shoulder as he forced her to her knees

"Face it, you failed and lost. Keep practicing and one day you'll have me in this position" She let out a low growl and he released her she rubbed at her wrist "Dammit!" she sat down and pulled off the helmet and glared at Gorrath "What am I doing wrong" he handed her a bottle of water and she took it ruefully "Your tail" he said and her face fell in a confused frown as she lifted her tail in front of her "My tail?" she looked back at him and after he swallowed he nodded "Your joking" he shook his head "I can tell which direction you are about to lean to. Your tail moves left, you move right. It's handy for balancing you out. But in a one on one battle, your enemy would subdue you easily" she glared at her tail for a moment longer. "Fine" she stood up and went to the padding wrack and she undid her waist guard and wrapped her tail around her waist and tied it in place before putting her protected padding back on. His brow rose "Interesting" she secured her tail in place before putting the water aside. 

"Again" He grinned.

They took their positions and began the circle; her tail was her dead giveaway and now Gorrath thought that she'd change things up, with her tail out of sight and not giving hints. This would be very interesting.

After the third circle she lunged at him and he blocked her fist. And he immediately noticed that she wasn't relaying on her legs now that an essential part (her tail) of who she was now tied still. He could only imagine the discomfort. Her hits were redirected and just as Gorrath was about to launch his attack she used his bended leg and kicked herself upward and kneed him in the jaw, he grabbed her offending leg and slammed her down. Perhaps a bit too hard. The men behind the glass hissed, feeling her pain  
She kicked her leg free and rolled away from him and sat on her knees and clicked her back, hissing herself  
"hsss, dammit!"

Gorrath swallowed and watched where he was, did he use too much force? The sting in his lower jaw reminded him of her successful blow. Though it didn't subdue him but he had felt it. She rubbed her back and Gorrath wasn't certain if he should ask if she was alright, but thinking that it'd be best if she toughened up so she can improve was the best option. "Your almost there, Kira. Don't give up now" she nodded "Just a moment, I saw stars for a few second there" she shook her head before she stood up stretching her arms and back out. Saw stars? Perhaps he should be a little gentler.   
"At least I know you're not holding back as much as you were before, My Lord" her voice was strained as she spoke. "Okay" she shook her arms and took up her fighting stance "Let's try this again. I'm not losing!"  
He grinned, she was stubborn and she wanted him to not go easy on her. But if he did that again, she'd be down for the count. Slightly gentler He told himself.  
Again she attacked, using a different range of techniques, with her tail out the way, her attacks were unseen but sloppy and by the fifth attempt that she had failed to get him on the floor, she stayed down and groaned "Dammit it all" he sat down, he almost worked up a sweat that time "I'm sure you're not a regular Glorft My Liege" he handed her water again she took it and sighed. "Even with my tail hidden you still predict my moves" he chuckled "I've been at this far longer than you" she scoffed as she sat up "Obviously"

Dren walked out, she could with stand some of Gorrath's hits. But she still had a far way to go before she'd get to a warrior's level. Seeing her being trained so by lord Gorrath made him itch to get out on the battle field. Kaman saw him leave and chased after him "Hey what's your problem?" Dren glanced his way "Remember how stern I was when Lord Gorrath first took me in and made me an assassin?" Kaman scoffed "You were a pain. 'I'll never betray Lord Gorrath!' attitude made you a loyal pawn and you never removed your mask or helmet in front of anyone. You really loosened up with age" Dren chuckled softly "If my younger-self saw me now; I doubt I'd recognize myself. I haven't been a real assassin since the destruction of our home. Seeing Kira and Lord Gorrath spar out like that made me want to join them" Kaman grinned, "Well, we are going to war to save our home soon. So getting fit again seems to be our best option" Dren hummed "I doubt many of the men will have the same idea. With all the new upgrades for the armor and mecha, they'll just stay chubby and lazy" Kaman waved a hand "I'm pretty sure some men are itching to train, seeing that the scientist is doing it as well and she won't even be part of the battle" Dren shook his head and his face turned sour "I'm sure the men would just train and wait till Lord Gorrath allows one of them to battle it out with her, just to be perverted and get a chance to touch her" Kaman grinned "Someone's getting over protective" he said in a sing song voice. 

Dren turned left down the next hallway and Kaman paused "Hey, that's the wrong way. Dinner is in the opposite direction" and when Dren didn't stop he yelled out "You're heading for the training room" he gawked at Dren "You're insane!" Kaman ran after him.

They paused when they saw who her new body guard was, it appeared to be Sen, and he was a boring character. He was isolated and didn't do anything else other than train, eat and sleep. He hardly spoke. Sen looked at the two and glared at Dren before shrugging and returning his attention to the training room. Dren stopped by the door and watched, Gorrath and Kira were still talking and she didn't look pleased at all as she undid the bonds on her tail and pulled off the helmet

"I'm just going to have to train to tame my tail, huh?" Gorrath grinned "If you can manage to use it to trick your opponent. That'll be better" she sighed "Man, I'm going to feel this later" she rubbed her back "I can't wait to go back to being a scientist" she pointed at him "I still need you to be measured for your new amour" he ignored her as he drank his water "Don't put it off, this amour is going to save your life"  
He appeared disinterested in whatever they were talking about and Dren's eyes narrowed.

He missed talking to her and as it appeared, Lord Gorrath and Kira seemed closer he couldn't help but feel envious. "She's improved since Our Lord Gorrath started training her. I'm even tempted to spare against her" Dren and Kaman looked at Sen "Did you just talk?" Kaman gapped and Sen shrugged in response. "When are you off duty?" Dren asked as he looked at her and Sen merely narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry, I won't go against Lord Gorrath's orders and attempt to sneak in to see her. I just want to know so that I can spare against you" Kaman stepped back "Did you get hit over the head or something." Dren glanced at Kaman "Looks like Sen and a few other men are the only one's who's taking training seriously. I'd like to get back into shape."

Kira got back to her room and she ran a hot bath. One more day and she can get back to work. But now her body would ache for rest. Gorrath may have been holding back, but even so, his attacks still hurt like hell. Again, she scornfully reminded herself that she had suffered far worse and would be able to bear through this. Though not without trouble, her movements would be strained. At least she'd have one day to relax till her supplies arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally cringe every time I have to write summary
> 
> -bangs head on wall-


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gorrath's Rage only grows due to his desires. The only way to avoid himself losing control, is to be an a**hole
> 
> Kira is not taking it well, to say the least.

Chapter7

Sen informed Lord Gorrath about Dren and as a result Dren and a few hundred other men were in the training hall. Gorrath was watching as they sparred. He wasn't impressed; he actually became rather bored and unintentionally zoned out. If the Commander wasn't making points in the men's techniques, he would've passed out. "Pathetic" He mumbled and the Commander looked at him "My Liege?" he backed away some in case he grabbed his face again "I can't believe I allowed my men to fall so low" Gorrath was horrified by their sloppiness. 

"Commander, make sure that the men train every day, those who are still improving their mechs and amour can continue doing that. But those that are done will train. Also lock away all the alcohol." Gorrath got up and left, making the men near stand back and bow.

The men had a fit when the Commander had the alcohol locked away and when Gorrath stomped on one of the men's backs to put his seriousness to a point he indicated to the jaws on his wrists, many calmed down and did their best to disappear "It's like dealing with children. Take away their bottle of milk and they have a tantrum. Pathetic! If you idiots don't cease being brats I'll have every one of your jaw blocks!" many bowed and half of them made a beeline for the doors.

Kira had her supplies and was already working. Gorrath told her to work on the planetary shields first and delayed his amour for further, she wasn't impressed but did as he told.

she was unable to sleep. She tossed and turned and her body ached from Gorrath's training. The bed was uncomfortable and with the lack of sleep, she became short tempered and she started zoning out at her station. After a month she gave up and just decided to sleep on the floor and much to her weary mind, she fell asleep almost instantly each time.

Sen opened the door to her room and stopped when he saw her on the floor, he'd either find her awake and ready or just waking up. Seeing her on the floor concerned him and he put the tray of her tea and soup on the table and went to check on her. 

"Lady" He shook her and all he got from her was a moan, he shook her some more and relaxed some as her eyes opened. She sat up and instantly Sen began checking her head, messing her hair up. Tired and annoyed she whacked his hands away "What are you doing?" he leaned back on his knee, "making sure you didn't hit your head, Lord Gorrath would kill me if he discovered that you were injured while I was on duty" she frowned and his eyes narrowed "Why are you on the floor?" she looked at the bed "I must've rolled out of bed" she looked at him "I doubt Lord Gorrath would kill you over me hitting my head by accident" his eyes narrowed again and he pulled her into a standing. "If I find you on the floor again I'll inform Lord Gorrath that you have a head injury…The Commander will be here in an hour." He said coldly as the door shut behind him. She frowned confused "what was that all about?" he seemed to really not like her. At all.

The Commander took her to the board room and pulled out some blue prints "You see this part here is a bit too complicated for the men to build. I was thinking we simplify this. The men aren't used to this type of technology, all this" he indicated to a section of the blue print for the mecha "Is just gibberish to them" she nodded "oh I see. Yeah. I'll simplify that" he nodded as he pulled out another blue print "Hey, Commander, can I ask a favour?" he looked at her "What is this favour?" she took in a breath "Lord Gorrath delays his fitting for his new armour and I can't begin building and programing the amour if I don't get his measurements." He nodded with a hand at his face "I think he'll be more willing if you did it rather than I" he looked at her "Yes, I can persuade him, I'll bring them to you as soon as I can" she breathed out a sigh "Thank you Commander. If Lord Gorrath doesn't have this armour, I fear the worst." The Commander stood up

"I believe you should build your own armor in the meantime, Kira" Kira turned on her heel and bowed awkwardly "Lord Gorrath, I need the remaining ore for your armor" he cocked a brow "I've been in your lab, that's a lot of ore" he had a unbelievably ridiculous image of how bulky and silly his armour would look like with all that ore. "I know it's hard to believe but that's all going to your armour" he walked to the Commander "Remember Kira, back there, we are all alive and young. If we die, we will still be there. You will not. I'm not willing to have you be killed." She balled up her fists "You're not expendable Lord Gorrath. If I am able to save every man on this ship. I'll-" Gorrath's face deepened in a scrawl "War is death Kira. I will not expect you to understand that. Every man on this ship is prepared to die for the greater good. I am no exception. If I die I will still be alive in my younger self. You are the one who is right now replaceable. If you die, we all lose." She shook her head "No! Lord Gorrath, you are not replaceable! No one on this ship is!" Gorrath growled, infuriated at her disobedience "You will not use that tone with me!" he roared, his arms behind his back. She stepped back and her eyes darted to the sides as her head lowered, her hands balls in fists at her side "Apologies" she whispered.

The men behind her watched and Dren felt the need to jump in and pull her away. But he knew, if he did one more thing out of line, he'd be good as dead. Gorrath gave a nod to Sen and he pulled her out the room. She shook her arm free as she stalked past the men. Her lips in a hard lined frown as she kept her eyes on the ground…

Sen stood at the door as she walked in "Lunch will be brought to you late. Every man aboard the ship is preparing" the door hissed shut and she heard the thumb of his steps fade away.  
She was scared and afraid; she didn't want anyone to die. She breathed heavily as she stood in the centre of the room, tears burned her eyes and her lips pulled into a deep frown. If she was able to save every man on the ship, she would, because each of them had some form of knowledge and wisdom that would help in their future. Each of them was different from their younger selves. If they died during the battle, they wouldn't appreciate their second chance. Lord Gorrath gave her a chance to be a scientist and not a slave. If she could help him and his people, she'd feel like she's paid her debt to him. She didn't want him, him to die. He's the Glorft king! If he died, well, who knows what mistakes he'd make?

Sen arrived a few hours before Dinner with her lunch, which was the same as dinner since all she ate now was soup. He found her admiring her stone, her back to the door as she sat at the table. He placed her food down and left without a word.

The next days she worked on the planetary shielding and she did it in silence, she couldn't sleep and she didn't want to have Lord Gorrath yell at her again. -She didn't want to risk him losing his temper and hitting her because of his rage. 

She would be able to stand up and defend herself if she didn't like him but because she did and admired him, it petrified her of the very idea that someone she had placed her trust in would hurt her- So each time Sen walked in, she was awake, waiting… 

she looked up from her station at the closed door, the back of Sen's head on the other side of the window could be seen, she frowned. He appeared agitated and annoyed each time she saw him and she couldn't help but think that his patience with her was worn thin. Her lids lowered slowly as she looked back down at the device. Maybe Sen felt agitated by guarding her, like he could be of use elsewhere. She could agree, he could lock the door and go train and improve his tech… she lowered her head in her hand. She couldn't focus, her mind was too weary and when she did manage to sleep in the bed, she'd be woken up with a nightmare. She sighed; she wouldn't be able to work like this for much longer. Hopefully she'd just pass out when her head hit the pillow and she'd have a dreamless sleep.

Sen opened the door when Lord Gorrath came down and he had to double back as he looked at her, she was asleep. Gorrath stopped in the doorway and looked just as surprised as Sen. He walked in and the door closed.

She looked peaceful as she rested her head on her hand and as he looked at her closer he noticed bags under her eyes… he breathed in as he looked at the ore piled in one corner, the second station to his right appeared to be cleared. The device on her desk in front of her was coming along nicely and that precious stone glowed on the corner of the desk. He felt calm in her presence even when she slept.  
He recalled how harsh he had been in the War room and he felt that he had to keep her obedient, if she got too comfortable talking to him casually he feared that things would get out of hand. He couldn't risk it. No matter how much he wanted to risk it. "Kira" he said firmly and when she didn't stir he sighed "Kira, wake up!" a firm shout woke her and she stood up and swayed some as her senses returned "My Lord" she straightened out "You haven't been sleeping well, Kira" she lowered her eyes and remained silent "Why?" he asked keeping his voice firm as he held back his softness that wanted to reach out to her "Nightmares" she said softly "apologies" he saw her swallow as she kept her gaze down "Don't apologize for nightmares Kira… I understand that struggle" she nodded her head and Gorrath could practically feel her anxiety fill the room. "Take a few days' rest. Remember we're all preparing for war. And thankfully there's no time limit on when it starts" she nodded and Gorrath felt his heart lurch at her mute behaviour. He didn't know exactly what to do or say next, so he left after that returning to his mech to get used to the new features that were added.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some who read this are thinking "WHERE IS THE SMUUUUT!?"
> 
> well. This is a slow burn, my dear smutty friends. 
> 
> -stares at computer screen waiting for reason to hit-


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING- Violence 
> 
> The ship is attacked.  
the ship is stranded in an icy hell.
> 
> it's up to Kira and Sen to get back to the Ship before they freeze to death.

Chapter8

Weeks passed and Kira had finished the first shield. She hadn't taken a break like Gorrath had told her to. And he was too preoccupied with the buzzing of the ship to go check on her. While the ship continued being busy, the men in the command centre hadn't paid attention to their radio and the red light blinked at the unmanned console. Stealth hunter ships attached EMP bombs on the ship. And they stayed at a safe distance as the countdown started. 

She had just gotten dressed; a hot bath had woken her up nicely, her damp hair dripped on the floor by her feet as she pulled on her lab coat. Sen had just opened the door when everything around them started to explode with electricity. The EMP waves knocked out the ships systems, offlining some very vital components. Every man aboard the ship-minus the ones asleep in bed- stiffened as electricity burned through them. And after a few minutes, everything went black. The ships emergency power grid activated and the red lights filled the hallways and rooms. Everyone aboard had fallen on the floor unconscious.

She woke up with her hands bound and her feet dragging on the floor and when she looked up and saw strange men. Her eyes widened and she looked at the men holding her arms. "Oh hell no!" she shouted and before the men had a chance, her tail tripped them and she began running. She didn't know where too, but anywhere was better than being abducted. She ran past unconscious men and was thankful to not see blood. 

She could hear the men run after her and she was thankful that she was a fast runner. When she turned a corner she didn't expect to run into someone and when she opened her eyes she saw Dren and breathed "They're after me" he held her to himself before he pulled her up and started running "Why are they after you?" she clutched onto his hand "I don't know!" He swore to himself and turned into an open room and just as they entered the door shut behind them "stay behind me Kira" he said lowly as he stared down one of the armoured hunters. "Hand the woman over and none of ya squids gada die" he had a spear in his hand and Dren snarled to himself "I'll distract him Kira. You make a break for it" she clung to his arm "No, I'm not leaving you" as much as that made him happy, now was not the time for mushy. "What do you want with her?" Dren started as he eyed for a way for escape. 

"You don't know who you got behind ya do ya?" Dren's eyes narrowed "What is he talking about?" she whispered and the man laughed "I aint gana satisfy that curiosity, now hand ha over and you get to live" there were two doors on each side, left would lead her up to the command deck and right down to the cafeteria sections. "Make a dash to the left when I attack him" Dren whispered to her "Don't look back and don't be a hero. Just run" she nodded sadly. Dren ran up to the man and started to attack and Kira ran for the door. But just as she reached in it a man appeared from the corner and grabbed the chains by her wrists. "Agh! Let me go!" he chuckled darkly and just as Dren had the one man on the floor he turned to look at Kira and growled. She attempted attacks but failed against his arm. "Let. Her. Go" she pushed her feet against the hunters chest and twisted and pulled as she kicked herself free. 

She skidded backwards and the man shook his head. The main door opened and the men that were chasing her came in. "I'm not going back to being a slave" she hissed under her breath. They were surrounded now and Dren's temper made him more aware of how messed up this situation was. The red lights only were making things grimmer. The two men at the main door took out their guns and the other guy by the command entrance did the same "We were paid not to hurt ya. But the boss can handle you with a few less scales." Dren kicked up the spear and spun it, deflecting two blasts to the side. They all started to advance and Kira wasn't about to go down without a fight. She ran for the guy by the command door and Dren shouted for her to stop, she dodged his shots and allowed one blast to break the cufflinks on her wrist and successfully kicked the gun towards Dren. And before the man could respond back she kicked upwards, hitting the side of his jaw.  
He retaliated and grabbed her arm and before he could twist her arm behind her back she moved her arm free and punched him hard in his neck and as she jumped back, he doubled over coughing up blood as he struggled to open his pipes.

Dren had shot the two men down as she returned to him "You're doing well" he breathed as she looked at him "I'm so glad that I had asked Lord Gorrath to train me" he smirked. And just as he was about to pull her to the door, more men came down and the man that was coughing was shoved aside by the man in front. "She should have been on the prison cell by now. The men are waking up! Get her!" she was moved behind Dren as he shot at the coming men, but a stray blast hit her in her left shoulder, she doubled back as she gripped her arm. "Kira! Run!" her tail whipped back and forth in agitation. "No!" she ran to pick up the guns by the main entrance and she skidded just as she did and aimed and pulled the trigger.

After a few blasts she held her shoulder and when she looked back up as a man had thrown a spear. It hit Dren in the chest and he fell back, she dropped the gun and ran for him "Dren!" she picked up his head and he reached for her and pulled her into a kiss. He pulled away after a few seconds "I love you Kira, now run!" he gasped and his face filled with pain.

The man behind that had thrown the spear started chuckling "Stupid squids, We knocked ye out fir a reason Ya'know? Shoulda stayed down and just handed ha over. But nah, ya squid-head hadta' fight back. Pathetic"

Something in her snapped then as she looked at him and her face turned into a snarl as she looked at the laughing man, she moved on her toes and suddenly her eyes burned red, tears falling she shook violently and her right horn grew back rapidly and in the dark red glow of the emergency lights, she seemed to blend in and before the man could react, she was in front of him, her left hand had ripped off his chest piece and her right hand had already stabbed into his chest and ripped out his heart.

She kicked him backward and his eyes widened behind his mask as he fell down. She swallowed his heart whole before he even had a chance to hit the ground. The ship made a sudden jerk but she hardly noticed it as she went to the cafeteria sections to where the one ship had docked. The men in that area stared, shocked.

Sen had awoken to find an empty room and ran to the Command deck to see what was happening while passing groaning men as he did. He stopped when he saw two dead intruders and as he looked up saw more of them dead. And Dren; Impaled.   
He heard screams and gun blasts to his right and made his way there

He didn't expect men to be screaming at the scientist as they ran away into their ship. The warship made a large jerk and he saw in the window that a planet's gravity was pulling them in. He hardly noticed that Kira was covered in blood under the red light as he pulled her to him and braced her to the wall.  
"Hold on Lady, it's going to get bumpy"

Kira just glared past him and everything started to rock and shake horribly. The hunter's ships were pulled back, unfortunately creating a gap in the warships haul. And since it was in emergency mode the doors in the area's shut.

Everyman aboard started waking up and those who were too close to the bombs stayed unconscious. Gorrath awoke and the emergency alarm just started. Which meant they were being pulled into a planet's gravity and as he got up he attempted to activate his mech to no prevail "Commander!" he yelled and attempted to activate his com-link and found it was malfunctioning. "What the hell is happening to my ship?"

The ship's external shields began to burn red and the hunters' ship started to be ripped off in the atmosphere. Sen dug his fingers into the wall and he attempted to activate his boots and got no response. He swore to himself. They were locked out and if he lost his grip, the scientist and he would be pulled off to crash to the planet's surface. Not a pleasant end. But if it was water, he'd at least be able to save her. His helmet at least worked. 

The hunter's ship was ripped off and a vacuum of air started pulling men out the ship. Sen held on and he could feel that she began to grip onto him as well. He could feel that the metal on the wall began to pull away and he attempted to dig his fingers in further into the wall. His fingers slipped and they were pulled back and just as he thought things were over, he felt her arm and tail wrap around him and he looked up, his feet were just out the ship and she had dug her fingers into the floor, he pulled himself up, holding onto the wall. He could see from the coming sun that her arm was bloody and her fingers were straining as she held on. He looked down and saw water and crashing waves.   
And lots of ice  
her grip was failing as her claws started to tare through the metal and then the metal plate pulled off and they both were pulled out the ship. He held her to himself and she gripped onto him. Her hair whipped around them rapidly as the icy air whirled around them, When Sen looked up through her green hair, he could see the warship and the hunter's ships fall and break up and before he's mind could register what was going to happen Sen's back hit the water like concrete and he released a painful gasp and fell unconscious, the water engulfed them and when she opened her eyes he was sinking and when she reached for him she noticed that her hand was glowing with little strange dots. Shaking her head she struggled to get to him, she'd never swam before and she had to learn quickly as she saw large beasts that also glowed, she used her tail to propel herself as she grabbed onto Sen's arm and pulled them both up. 

She gasped as she reached the surface and almost had a panic attack when a beast swam up beside her. Its large black eyes watched her before it moved beneath the dark waters. She looked for land and saw the warship crash into a mountain side far away. Looking behind her she found closer land and began the struggle to get there.  
She pulled him up and her arms gave in beneath her and she collapsed gasping and shivering and no later passed out.

Gorrath had the remaining hunter's in detaining cells. He panicked when he found Kira missing from the lab and wasn't to be found in her room. Kaman and a few men came rushing past him to the ER/infirmary and he saw that Dren was badly injured. 

"You" he pulled one man from the group "Where was he?" he nodded "he was found on the midsection from the Command centre and the Cafeteria." Gorrath glared "Is the scientist there?" he shook his head and the man's eyes widened "The scientist is missing" Gorrath released the man and ran for the area and saw the amount of dead hunters. 

The Commander came from the left door and held a flash light "My liege" Gorrath walked over the men to him "Kira is missing. Tell me why my ship is offline" the commander was stunned for a moment "EMP bombs. Did the intruders get away with her?" he shook his head. "No, I don't believe they made it out." Gorrath held his head "Get my ships systems online now Commander, I need to see the security footage of this area" the Commander nodded

Sen gasped for air and he saw the dark skies and the howling wind. He looked around and saw on his right arm was the scientist, her lips were a dark blue and she was shivering and her horn was back? He pushed himself up and his back hurt and he gasped at the pain… he looked to the water and saw that her feet and tail were glowing. And frowned at that "Lady" he shook her and as he pulled her up and saw the wound on her left shoulder; hearing the howling wind he looked up and saw black clouds coming in. he had to find a cave for cover.

It had been hours since the crash landing and Gorrath felt like everything was coming undone. He looked at the time drive and thought long and hard on the conversation he had with her on the consequences. "You have one chance to merge with your younger version" his heart pounded as he waited for the Commander to get the consoles to start working. The men with the skills started fixing and repairing the ship. "My liege, Sen and the scientist cannot be found" Gorrath looked at the man… Sen is with her then… "Go" he bowed and left. What was he to do? Wait while she was stuck in a storm somewhere, possibly freezing her tail off. If Sen was with her… oh no… he hoped it wouldn't come down to that. He'd kill Sen if he did that to her. His fist clenched in rage at the mere thought.

Kira awoke and saw Sen opposite her. When she moved to rub her sore shoulder she found herself in a thick layer of vined moss… "You're finally awake" he said and she looked at him, the memory of what had happened came rushing back to her and her heart immediately started to ache. She lowered her eyes. "I was hoping it was a nightmare" she whispered. "Well it's not. Why were those men after you?" she attempted a shrug and hissed at the sting

"I don't know. Something to do with someone who had me as a slave and wanted me back for some reason" he stood up and went to the cave entrance. The cave was illuminated by small plants, glowing soft little white and greens. Dren died… he was gone… she looked at Sen… She was stranded on a planet with someone who despised her and probably was fed up with her very existence…she lowered her head as she inspected her injury and found that it was burned closed "Thank you Sen" he looked at her "For closing my wound" he nodded and she looked back down "Scientist" she looked back at Sen and he handed her his left gauntlet. "Can you fix my com-link?" she reached for it and looked at it, it looked like it would work, but there was no signal. "It'll work when we get closer to the ship. There's no signal here" she handed it back to him "I think they set off EMP bombs, most of the ships systems will be offline, along with other technology that was near it" he gave an annoyed sigh. "The storm has passed, we should move and find another cave before nightfall" He looked at her and frowned beneath his mask "Can you walk" she pushed herself up and nodded. He led the way out and she followed shortly after him. She was just going to keep to herself, she didn't feel like talking… also she didn't want Sen to get annoyed with her any more than he already was…

4 days had passed and the Commander finally got the consoles to work. The ships main power was coming online and the rest of the ships broken parts could start to be repaired as soon as the mecha started working. The Commander isolated the footage to that with her in it and placed it on the Command window.

She had just put on her lab coat when the EMP bombs went off. Both her and Sen's forms as the electricity flowed through them was enough to make themselves cringe… it was a few moments later that three hunters went in, one Gorrath recognized. He picked her up by her lower jaw and Gorrath's fingers dug in the chair's arm rest. The man chuckled as he tossed her to his men and they left as they put cufflinks on her wrist. The leader went a different direction while the men dragged her through the hall ways.

She woke up and tripped the men and started running away and it was then that she ran right into Dren.

Finally, the section where hell went down... Gorrath was on the edge of his seat as he watched. He was impressed with her and even though it was hard to see, the blasts of the guns flashed enough light to see a few things… He saw that she had been shot and despite it she continued. He saw Dren get impaled and her run to him and he watched with envy and anxiety as Dren kissed her, said something before she placed his head down. Then, something changed and he couldn't see what had happened, one moment she turned to the laughing hunter, next he saw her kick him. "Commander" the commander had re-winded it and slowed it down. And he watched as her entire features had morphed. 

Her face was in such a dark snarl and then suddenly her eyes just blared red. She had run so fast that even the camera had a missed a few frames of her. He saw her rip the man's left chest piece off and her right hand had already impaled him and ripped out his heart. The Commander paused the scene "She wasn't kidding about eating hearts" he whispered with wide eyes… "Continue" the scene played out and she went after the hunters in such a deadly manner, while they shot at her the others started running into their ship away from her. She had one man on his knees and had snapped his neck when Sen ran in and grabbed her. And he watched as they struggled to stay aboard. His heart falling as she dug her nails into the floor while holding onto Sen. The bloodied snarl on her face was terrifying as he looked at her red eyes. It was like she was a completely different person.

"Commander, do we have any footage of where they may be?" the Commander shook his head.

"This is the fifth day we're stranded on this forsaken planet" Sen growled to himself as they stalked in the snow. She kept her distance as she pulled the plantation blanket closer, she was losing feeling in her toes and she was starting to freeze, there was no sun today.

She kept warm that way. The plants absorbed the heat and kept her warm. She looked about her for a cave and only found ice and snow. She looked forward and almost walked into Sen, thankful that she didn't as he took out his gun and shot at something. It was a smallish creature… she didn't doubt that he was hungry.

Night came fast with a large storm attached to it and they just found a cave. She collapsed against a wall and rubbed her feet as she shivered and attempted to do so quietly to avoid annoying Sen. He had eaten the creature and he looked at her and the senses in his helmet told him she had lost a considerable amount of heat. If she dies, there'd be no point in returning to the ship since I'll be as good as dead. And if she returned with a few toes missing, Gorrath will have my jawblock.

He sighed; reluctantly he'd have to keep her warm. He undid his front chest piece as he went to her and she stiffened as he took hold of her arm and made her sit between his legs he braced her back to his chest and he held back the urge to gasp at how cold she was. And he put her arms in front of her chest as he put the front piece of his armour back in place, to trap whatever heat he had to keep her warm. He reached over and pulled the marsh blanket over them, making sure her toes and tail were covered.

She stayed still and she didn't say anything as he rested his back against the wall. For her, this was beyond awkward and uncomfortable. She could guess why he did this… to save himself from Lord Gorrath's wrath would be the best option… she could feel him breath and she could feel his heart beat steady and powerfully through her back. "Relax Lady" his voice was stern and she couldn't relax. "Not easy" she whispered and he sighed as he crossed his arms in front of her "Dren died honourably protecting you. Honour his choice. I won't hurt you either. So just relax" she lowered her head as her heart ached as he brought that up. And he sighed agitated; she could practically feel his hate for her burn through her back. She swallowed the lump in her throat and shut her eyes tightly. Her jaw was clenched firmly to stop herself from quivering and sniffing.

Hours past and it was only after that did he feel her back relax against him. And he could tell that she had passed out and was thankful for it. If they made it back to the ship in one piece, he was going to ask to be reassigned; he had better things to do than watch over a temperamental woman. Why Dren ever defied Lord Gorrath for this woman was something he didn't understand. Infernal creature… He slept with half his mind conscious of sounds and after a while he heard that the storm had passed and woke up. The ghastly howling wind had ceased and he woke her up roughly. When she lifted her head he undid the chest piece and stood up as he put it back on and walked out. She held her breath as she pulled the marsh around her as she went after him. She had been treated worse, just the fact that it came from a race she had begun to admire made this a little more difficult…

The sun was out and she felt relieved, if she kept warm he wouldn't have to force himself to have her so close to him. That would make this journey go by much quicker. Over the snow hill they could see the warship much clearer and it felt like a fresh breath of air "A few more days and this is all over" he said to himself as she walked beside him, he looked at her and noticed that the scales on her face had started to go black. "You're turning black" he stated, confused. 

First she glows in water and now she's turning black. What the heck? She didn't look at him as she touched her face and he saw her hand was blackening as well "My scales are turning black to trap the heat of the sun" she pointed upward "and I'll be shedding soon" she said softer as she looked at her hand before she continued walking. He noticed that something besides her appearance had changed; it was like something in her was different.

They found a cave just before the storm hit and she found a spot in the cave and sat down, he looked at her for a long while "Did you love him?" she looked up at him in confused shock at the question and it took her a while to reply "I..I don't know what love is like…Maybe" she said quietly as she looked away. He saw that she was holding whatever emotions he stirred back. He didn't understand her "We're all soldiers Lady. He was prepared to die for a long time. We all are prepared for death. You're mourning over nothing; Dren is alive where we're going. Suck it up" he went and sat down against a pillar and she kept her eyes down at her feet. Her eyes narrowed; no… the Dren I know isn't there. He's alive there, but he's not the Dren I came to know she looked at Sen. It appeared that he had a shrewd way of looking at life. She rested her head against the cold stone and held back the tears that burned her eyes.

The storm held for a few days and she stayed where she was as Sen paced up and down every now and then. She jumped when he slammed a fist in the wall "This is ridiculous" he grumbled.  
Sen awoke that night to find her suffering in a nightmare and he watched as she jumped into a standing as she looked about her, she wouldn't be able to tell he was awake with his helmet on and he saw her run a hand through her hair as she sat back down. 

Her teeth were clenched tightly and she glared at the floor

The storm had passed the next day and it was near nightfall and there was no sign of a cave. "We're going to get trapped in this storm" Sen announced and she looked at him then to the skies. Things were just getting worse "Aren't you hungry woman?" She looked at him and shook her head "I can go two months without eating" he shook his head "I'm starving, this planet is hell frozen over"

The storm caught them and the winds were making it difficult for Kira to move, Sen had to shield her as they trudged along. It appeared that all hope was lost when she tugged on his arm and pointed to a dark opening and he breathed a sigh of relief. A cave at long last… they were nearing the cave when something large and white tackled Sen and knocking Kira down.

She looked up and struggled to see in the blinding icy winds, she could just make out Sen and that he was shooting at something large. Her eyes widened when she heard him scream in agony.  
The beast had white fur and it had ripped and tore at Sen's armour devouring it. Its teeth and claws leaving long and deep gashes in Sen's back, chest and right arm and leg. He thought that this was it… this was how he was going to die. 

The pain became so much worse when the icy wind bit at his wounds, he was about to give in when his helmet was pulled off. It was then that he saw her as he fell to the ground. Her eyes were glowing red and she had started to attack the creature. She head-butted the creature in its face and she clawed at its eyes. 

The beast Roared over the howling wind and Sen watched in stunned amazement. She had his blade and had stabbed the beast in the back of its neck when it pulled her off and threw her. All he saw as he pushed himself up was silhouettes as she took it down by stabbing it in its throat and jumping down along its front. The creature fell and that's when the pain blinded him and he fell back.  
He woke up in a cave covered in plantation and it was warmer, and everything had an orange glow.

He attempted to move when he saw that he had a marsh blanket on him and a marsh pillow braced his neck. He used his left arm to push himself up and saw that there was a fire to his right. He looked down and saw that he had orange stuff in his wounds, his vision blurred and he leaned back confused.

Gorrath had told the man at the Console to keep a channel open for Sen, if his signal came online, he was too immediately zone in on it and keep the signal locked so that they could find them.

She returned to find him sitting against the wall and she placed his gauntlet down, there was a faint signal, she had gone out looking for plants to clean his wounds and as well as attempt to contact the warship.

She had made marsh boots and a cloak. She used her lab coat to bandage up his wounds. Thankfully everything was Glorft size, so she had enough to cover his chest and back injury. She had cleaned his wounds and used the heated blade to close his wounds, she started with his leg and he woke up with a pained gasped shock "ah what the hell!" he looked at her and he saw that she had gone completely black, her eyes were wide as she pulled the blade back "Sorry, thought you'd remain unconscious like I was" he stared at her, despite the colour of her skin, her hair was still its dark emerald green, she looked rather frightening. When he just stared at her she took in a breath "Lay back down Sen. I need to close your wounds" he continued to stare, his face looked confused and angry.

"Look do you want to do this or should I considering your condition?" He shook his head as he lay down. His vision had blurred again, he had no strength "Just get it over with" he rasped. He had passed out during most of it and she waited for him to wake up again… And after a few days of him just sleeping she became worried… she sat beside him in silence hoping that he wouldn't die. Years of helping other slaves and prisoners and defending herself kept them alive for now. But as the storms brewed and each day she went out to the cliff to try and get a signal for the warship to pick up and returned with no luck she began to lose hope in surviving herself. She broke up some dried vines and smacked two stones together to create the spark for the fire to start and did her best to keep herself and Sen Warm. She watched his breathing to attempt to calm herself as the wind howled by the cave entrance. She held his hand firmly in hers begging him to wake up in her mind.

It was hours later when Sen awoke and felt his stomach rumble and ache "Sen" he looked at her worried yet relieved expression "I thought you fell into a coma" he felt her hand squeeze his "How long have I been out?" she let his hand go "A few days" He pushed himself up in a painful gasp and when she moved to help him he stopped her "Why have you stayed here? You should've moved ahead to the warship" he said in a scolding irritable tone "Even if I could I wouldn't" He glared at her "What do you mean by that" she sighed and leaned back "There's a cliff and a steep drop to a rocky watery end separating this island from the one the warship is on." 

he stared and shook his head when he saw that his left gauntlet was by the wall "What have you been doing while I slept?" She looked at the gauntlet "I've been attempting to contact the ship by the ledge… obviously I haven't been successful" he face-palmed "Are you attempting to get yourself killed?" she leaned back and frowned 

"You were asleep and injured gravely! I wasn't about to sit around and watch you die when I could at least attempt to do something" he scoffed "Ignorant woman, there are beast out there. You could have been killed!" she scoffed and got up "The beasts of this planet seem to only eat metal. The only thing I had to worry about is the cold and getting caught in the storms" he hissed at the pain "Look at you, you're all black" a rock fell down deeper in the cave causing a loud echo making them both look in the darkness and after a while Sen started to remove his bandage "Don't remove that, it's keeping your wounds clean" he scoffed at her "We're on a frozen waste land" she sighed and went to sit down by the fire. She stared into the flames while he examined his wounds and after a while he looked at her "Why did you glow in the water?" the memory had him confused and she looked at him before she looked at her hand "My mother once told me that when she went into the ocean waters that she'd glow… I didn't think she was being literal…" 

her voice was almost quiet as she continued to stare into the fire. And the more he looked at his wounds the more irritable he had become. "Listen, Sen." He looked at her "I know you think that you're wasting your time with me. Guarding me and such… When we get back to the warship you can ask lord Gorrath to be reassigned…" he stared at her and after a while he looked back at his wounds  
The fire had died out and they had fallen asleep when an echoed clicking and tapping came from the deep depths of the cave. Sen woke to it and pushed himself up as he held his right side. 

Kira was asleep, her back turned to him. The clicking and tapping sounded again and he faced the darkness, glaring into it as he attempted to find the source. When a stone-bug-like creature latched onto his foot and when he kicked at it, its long spike legs and began pulling him "Release me insect!" Kira awoke from his shout just as another insectoid latched onto him and began pulling him deeper into the cave. Kira growled to herself as she kicked the one creature from its underbelly off Sen.

It's screech echoed painfully in the cave as it got up and tackled her down. They struggled as its long legs wrapped around them, pinning them to their underbellies as they were dragged down a steep hole. Kira angled her elbows and pushed backward, stabbing it with the spikes on her elbows. It screeched again and released her. She pushed herself up and with her hybrid eyes she could see as Sen was pushed against the cave wall and the insect used its leg and impaled Sen in the right chest. She had moved and dismembered its leg as she pulled it away and removed its head. Sen coughed and she turned back to him and knelt down in front of him "Sen" he pushed her away "Go get out of here, I'm just another soldier, leave" he cough up blood and she felt tears burn her eyes and she wasn't able to hold them back "You're not just another soldier to me, Sen." He could just see her and he couldn't believe what he was seeing, she was crying, for him. He reached for her face to see if he was hallucinating. And when he felt the tears on his fingers he felt a bit of warmth in his heart "You honour me with your tears lady" he rasped "Go. Return to the ship. You've proved capable" he reached for the leg in his chest and gripped it painfully. She stopped him from pulling it out "No you'll bleed to death" he attempted to push her away again when she leaned into him. "Dammit woman, go" he could feel that he wasn't going to be able to stay conscious for much longer.

All she could do as she watched him lose consciousness was think that it was all her fault… if those men hadn't been sent to look for her, Dren wouldn't be dead and the warship wouldn't be as damaged as it was, they wouldn't be on this forsaken icy waste land and no one else would've died. She was just a nuisance

Sen is a bit of an Ass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when i first created Sen, he was supposed to force himself on Kira in this chapter and Gorrath comes to the rescue, but like most times. characters change their roles.   
Sen;"I do not want to be a rapist! I want to be an important side character instead!"   
Me ;"yeah sure and I'll just have to create more drama so Gorrath has a reason to make his move on her" -roles eyes-


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Royalty? who?
> 
> There are a couple on board who have a crush on someone
> 
> Gorrath becomes slightly closer to Kira than normal as fatigue begins to show.

CHAPTER9

Sen awoke to lights and the sound of multiple heart monitors. When his eyes adjusted he recognized that he was in the infirmary. The white and light greens as he sat up "Easy there" Kaman pushed him back down "How'd?" he frowned confused, he could've sworn that he was dying in a cave and… she was crying for him…

"You were pretty bad when the rescue team brought you in. If it weren't for Kira's strange remedies for your wounds you would've died long before." he stared at Kaman as he continued "It took a while but the Commander managed to hone in on your signal, Lord Gorrath formed a team and left no sooner" he rubbed his neck "And the scientist?" Kaman nodded "She's black and has minor injuries, three claw marks no different from yours on her back. If she was warm blooded she would've had a bad infection." Sen's gaze passed Kaman and his eyes widened as he saw in the bed behind him was Dren. "He's alive?" Kaman turned to face his friend and nodded "Does she know?" Kaman sighed and shook his head "No, Lord Gorrath said that unless he pulls through that it's best to not get her hopes up." He left then, leaving Sen to his thoughts. His hand went over his wound where that thing had stabbed him as he remembered how cold he was to her…and she saved him despite it.

Gorrath was in the holding cells and now that Kira was back he could relax and properly interrogate the hunters. "Who sent you?" one laughed "Guzan the guun" Gorrath glared at the man who stepped forward. "And why is he after my scientist?" the man laughed "Scientist?" he laughed some more along with his men "and why is that so humorous?" the man cleared his throat as he slid a device towards Gorrath's feet "That device lead me to you. That escape pod held an important slave." Gorrath picked it up "look through that device. Has all the info you need" the Commander frowned "Why are you so willing to speak?" he chuckled "I'm a hunter. I was paid to fetch the girl. Not to keep my trap shut" he smirked "Also, we would be able to help rebuild the ship, considering our bombs is what sent us all plundering down" Gorrath handed the device to the Commander "Do you have any other useful information?" the man smirked "Won't know if you kill me and my men now will you" Gorrath narrowed his eyes as he left "Kill these arrogant bastards" his men lined up with their guns "Wait! The Princess's father will pay big if you bring her to him!" the men lowered their guns and looked among each other as Gorrath turned to face him "Princess?" the man breathed in relief "Yes, that important slave is a princess. See, we were planning on double crossing Guzan and handing her over to her pops to get a far larger reward" the men just stared just as surprised and shocked as Gorrath. The Commander pointed at the device "All the information is here."

A week had passed and Kira was sitting on the floor as she poked her skin, in a week or two she'd have new light skin. Lord Gorrath had been busy and she heard that Sen was well. His right arm was in a sling though.

When she woke and saw Lord Gorrath as he was carrying her out, she felt so relieved. After the Doctor had patched up her wound; she didn't even realise that she had been wounded she was so cold. She told Lord Gorrath what had happened and he appeared to be even more relieved than when he had found her. She didn't know why.

(Lord Gorrath was afraid that Sen would get sexual with her to remain warm- so when she told him what happened. You can imagine his relief)

Sen's roommate Ryuuk told him about the rumours that had gone about. Ryuuk was one of the shorter Glorft, meant to be doctors or a scientists, he sadly lacked both skills so he ended up being one of the chiefs. "Some men have been saying that the scientist you've been protecting" Sen scoffed at that "Is a Princess" Sen just stared at him "A Princess? She was born in slavery, how is she a Princess?" Ryuuk shrugged "Apparently her father had two wives" he sat down on the lower bunk. Sen sighed he would have died if it weren't for her. And now she's apparently a princess… Agh

Lord Gorrath went to go see Kira and had her sit down. "Did you ever wonder why you were sold at such a high price?" she frowned "I was sold at a high price?" he rubbed his brow "Apparently I was right about you not having the air of a slave" he mumbled "What does that mean My Liege?" he leaned back "You're a Princess" her expression didn't change "I was a slave. Where does this royal stuff come from?" Gorrath looked at the information "Your father's race had invaded and abducted a few hundred of your mother's people. Your father the King took a woman as a wife and another as a mistress. They were both with child when they were abducted, your mother was sold before your father could rescue her." She blinked in thought "His wife died in childbirth and the son was born still. Your mother was the mistress" She didn't look impressed

"Great so I'm not just a bastard. I'm a royal bastard" she smiled sarcastically at him "Great" he narrowed his eyes and he sighed "The point of this is that your father is looking for you" she looked at him surprised and he sighed "Look Kira, if you want, once we're off this planet I'll take you to your father" she shook her head "I'm your scientist. And last I checked I was helping you save your people. Princess or not, I was born a slave not a royal. I won't be able to live the life he probably want's for me. He's a King he can just get a new wife and a new kid." She looked away "besides having a father now would just be awkward" he took hold of her hand "It's your choice. But he is your family… even if you just see him" she shook her head "I have a feeling my 'dad' wouldn't let me go" she sighed "I think I'll just avoid that. I appreciate your concern on it though" he grinned tiredly "At least I won't be losing my scientist" he leaned back "Are you okay, my Liege?" he nodded "Just tired" she lowered her head "Sorry, if those hunter guys weren't after me this wouldn't have happened" he squeezed her hand "It was unavoidable Kira. Don't blame yourself" she lowered her head "Dren died because of this, because of me" Gorrath looked at her and thought about telling her that he was alive and thought against it… "Don't think of it that way. War and battle isn't pretty. Clearly since you did quite a bit of carnage yourself" she covered her face with her hands "I just snapped okay. I don't know why. It just happens" he smirked "Whatever causes that saved you. And I guess that's where you get the eating hearts threat" she groaned "It just happens" he touched her arm and she looked at him "How long till your green again?" he asked "A few weeks" he leaned back "When was the last time you slept Lord Gorrath?" he looked at her "I haven't rested since you were pulled from the ship" she frowned "that was three weeks ago" he sighed "I'll rest once we're off this planet. Relax and heal" he got up then and left…

The Commander had gone through the information thoroughly and it held all the previous slavers and masters that she was either sold or captured from. There was a picture of each time she was sold and or captured.

She always wore a scowl or a look of boredom like "here we go again". There was a large gap from when she was 13 till 19 and the difference was frightening, she was covered in scars and looked extremely pissed and as he looked closer he realised that they were surgical scars. "What did these Grigorns do to her?" he filed through to find what else he could about what went on during those five years and couldn't find anything, all it said was that she had escaped and killed four scientists who all had missing hearts… "Yesh" Gorrath had gone through it and a similar reaction and Commander looked at the War Master as he slept at his desk. He hadn't rested properly since the crash. He could only imagine his stress and how much his body must've been suffering from all this chaos.

Sen woke to Ryuuk "Why did you wake me up?" he asked sourly, Ryuuk crossed his arms "What did she do to you?" Sen sat up from his bunk "What are you talking about?" Sen was glaring at the smaller Glorft and despite the size difference Ryuuk wasn't deterred "You were saying her name in your sleep, was enough to wake me up and I'm a heavy sleeper" Sen looked away "I'm kind of envious of her right now" Sen looked at him "Why?" Ryuuk went and leant against the wall away from Sen "I've been your roommate for years and I haven't even been able to make you feel anything or do anything. You're like a giant emotionless log. Hell a chameleon worm has more personality than you do and now after 2 weeks of having nothing but alone time suddenly your speaking her name in your sleep and look more annoyed and agitated" Sen glared and his fist clenched at his side "What the hell did that woman do to you?" Sen grumbled beneath his breath "She saved my life" Ryuuk scoffed "Obviously. She also gave you a good image in front of Lord Gorrath when she told him what had happened" Sen looked at him "How do you know?" he shrugged "Your my roommate, when I heard that you were sucked out the ships haul with the scientist I had a panic attack. And when I heard that you were brought in and you were injured I went to see you. But you were still in the ER so I went to her room and over-heard the story." Sen felt a sense of anxiety as he watched Ryuuk's expression "She left out the part about you being a jackass however" Ryuuk smirked and Sen looked away guilty "Despite my sour behaviour towards her she still saved my life" Ryuuk scoffed "Also, she asked to have you reassigned" Sen's head snapped towards Ryuuk "She did what?" Ryuuk could see the panic as Sen's breathing increased "She said that it was for your best interest as you healed. He agreed" Sen sat down and Ryuuk shook his head "Who replaced me?" Ryuuk felt irritated "Kaman. He's the only one that would be able to handle her as she is now." Sen's expression moved to concern "Why? What happened while I was unconscious?" Ryuuk shook his head "This is exactly what I mean, she changed you! You were never this emotional!" Sen growled "I think you're falling for her and I think I'm beginning to hate her" Sen narrowed his eyes "Every other man aboard this ship has become buddies with their roommate and I get stuck with an emotionless beefcake." He shook his head as Sen continued to glare and Ryuuk waved his hand "Whatever" He grabbed his apron and chief hat and left. 

Sen glared after him "His gay" he frowned "great"

Kaman opened the door to Kira's room and saw her sitting on the floor in the dark. He put her lunch down as he looked at her "Hey, how are you feeling?" she looked at him "Guilty… sad… And you? He was your friend for a long time" her voice was soft and coarse, he felt guilty from keeping Dren's being alive from her but knew that unless he pulled through, he couldn't speak about it. "Mind if I join you?" she shook her head and patted the floor beside her and he went and sat down and rested his back against the bed "It's difficult" he started "I'm sorry" he patted her shoulder "It's not your fault Kira. Really" she shook her head "Please don't give me 'he's a soldier and was prepared to die' speech. I've heard it from Sen the Commander and Lord Gorrath" he shook his head "I'm not…" he sighed 

"Dren had changed over the years… in the beginning when he passed all Lord Gorrath's tests and became the top assassin. He was so serious. 'I'll never betray Lord Gorrath' or 'I'll protect our king till my last breath!'" Kaman laughed softly "he really loosened up" she looked at him "If he's younger self saw who he turned out to be and who he died for, I think he'd throw a fit" she looked away sadly "Kira, he loved you, truly… I know that he'd never regretted it and if he had to do it again, he would" he could hear her sniff and he felt the depression within him as well… "I miss him too Kira… I'm not used to his absence…" he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze "I know he's alive where we're going but that doesn't mean he's the same Glorft…" he nodded "I know, I feel the same about it. I don't think I'll be able to handle captain assassin again" she looked at him "He was that bad" he scoffed "He was a big pain" he rubbed his brow "Don't beat yourself up. War is unpredictable. I know from what Lord Gorrath has told us that we all get a second chance. All except you. So even if we die. We still live and it's a chance many of us will make. Lord Gorrath will do whatever he can to keep you safe when the war starts" she looked at him "Did he tell you to lecture me on this matter" she said tiredly "No… but I know it's something we all need to accept. And because of your past I know you'll need to accept it too" she shook her head and her hands formed fists "If I can save every Glorft on this ship I will. I won't let anyone die" he touched her shoulder "This is why you need to accept this. It's fact of war. Both sides suffer casualties and loss." Her tail began tapping in irritation 

"I know that both sides lose." She said painfully "We will all mourn but it'll be a victory in the end. Stay strong. You're a tough woman. Clearly, you kicked ass" he attempted humour "Agh" he chuckled "Now, you must eat and I must leave. If you need me you know how to contact me" she nodded as he got up and left. The time drive could be used but the risk of causing a multidimensional collapse was too great of a risk. Who knows who'd die if she saved him?

The Commander received complaints that because of the planets icy weather that repairing the damage was near impossible. "Each storm forms more new layer of ice and every attempt to repair has proved futile." The Commander listened to him "Pause all repairs of the exterior haul. I'll ask our scientist if there's a way to around these storms" the man stepped back "Shouldn't you speak with the War Master?" The Commander shook his head "No, the War Master will appreciate his privacy while I solve this… he needn't be concerned" he bowed his head "She's brilliant I'm sure the scientist will be able to make something useful"

Kira listened to the Commander as he walked her to the laboratory "But with the storms and the power being unstable. A proper source to shield the entire warship is near impossible" she nodded and as they entered the lab her eyes landed on her stone, as it glowed prettily on the corner of her desk "Power may not be a problem after all Commander…" he followed her gaze "I don't read minds…" she was about to pick up the stone when her hand neared it and a black mass of shadow begun to form and she pulled her hand away with a frown. "The shard within the time-drive is its power source. I can build an extra component and add it to the time-drive" he breathed a sigh of relief "Will you require assistance?" she shook her head "I have all I need here. I'll build a powerful shield. It'll block out the storm and protect the ship from any hostile foreign anomalies, kind of like the planetary shields, but smaller" he nodded "I'll have your dinner brought here"

Kaman leaned on the door frame "So this would be easier than the planetary shielding?" she nodded "The ship is smaller than a planet." It was odd looking at her while she was completely black "So ah, what happened when you were trapped with Sen?" she paused in her tinkering to look at him "Nothing of significance. I only realized that he has better things to do than waste time guarding me" Kaman frowned "Really? I thought it was the perfect job for him. Him being lazy and such and only having to worry every now and then" she went back to her tinkering "He had been more than sour towards me long since before the ship had crashed. I think it became more tedious for him" Kaman shook his head "Dren would have loved so much alone time with you" she didn't reply "So he really is asexual then no interest in anything" she momentarily glanced up at him "He didn't try to do anything with you while you two were stuck together?" she shook her head "Nothing? Really?" she looked at him "Why is that so hard to believe? I guess that counts as using his body heat to keep me warm" he looked at her "Did he try to do anything else?" she shook her head with a scoff "He hated every second of it. He couldn't wait to get away from me" she continued to tinker "He didn't try to…?" she put down her tool and looked at him "Must I be blunt with you Kaman" he straightened up "No. I get it. His completely asexual" she rolled her eyes "Men"

a few days passed and Gorrath had learned what Kira was building. He watched as she added the component to the time-drive. And as she stepped away a pulse was sent through the ship and Gorrath watched as the icy winds that hit the windows were propelled backward "How large will the shield be?" she looked at him "A complete sphere around the warship. Over and under" he grinned and she started to leave and when a few men bowed their head as she passed she rolled her eyes "The sooner we're off this shit-pile waste land the better"

She was having a hot bath when she felt the soothing feel of the dead over laid skin begin to slip off. The skin tore around her wounds. This had to be one of the smoothest shedding she had ever had. No itching. The hot water made it so much easier. Her skin was a light olive green and her scales were soft, she stepped out of her dark skin and emptied the bath water. She stuffed her dead skin into a disposable bag before she shoved into the rubbish shoot. She waited in the steamed air for her scales to harden and dry.

Sen was tired of the guilt over his behaviour and his mind wondering on questions. He had to see her and ask for himself. He opened the door and walked in just to stop and freeze where he stood, the door closed behind him. She had pants on but her back was bare to him, the three claw marks moving from her right shoulder to her left hip were still black, her hair was still wet as she used the towel to dry it in front of her. He felt himself unable to move or announce his presence as his heart began to palpitate. His face beginning to burn with heat as he blushed uncontrollably… She turned and stared at him, her hair just covering her breasts. She pulled the towel to cover herself. 

"Sen" she started and he didn't reply "Hello, Mr grumpy, you there?" and when he still didn't reply she rolled her eyes and grabbed the remaining cloths and went into the bathroom. She came out completely dressed and saw him still standing like a statue. "Sen?" she snapped her fingers in front of his face when he fell backward she withdrew her hand and stepped back "What just happened?" she went and placed a hand on his face and felt the heat "He has a fever" she looked at the panic button the table beside her bed, the Commander…

"What happened?" she shrugged "he walked in and then he fainted. I don't think he should have been out of bed" he shook his head as the medics took him away "Here, it's the information the hunters had" she took it "What happened to them?" he scratched his neck "their alive in the holding cells. Lord Gorrath is thinking about leaving them to fend for themselves when we leave" she chuckled "Good, they'd be popsicles for another unfortunate race to stumble on" the Commander frowned "You're rather violent" she sighed "I just want to go back to being a scientist again. This icy wasteland has me on edge" he nodded "After what you've been through. I cannot blame you. How are your wounds" she rubbed her left shoulder "It's going to take a year for these scars to disappear. Doesn't hurt if that's what you meant" he nodded "Lord Gorrath will be pleased to hear that"

The ships repairs were going far smoother and a few men were concerned by some strange claw marks going into the lower ships haul. "Lord Gorrath will have our jaw blocks if we don't close these out" he grunted "No jesting about that" he started to mold the exterior breech closed "He's too concerned over the scientist to bother us though" he chuckled "You mean the princess" they laughed for a while when they heard a scream. They passed glances to the other before they grabbed their guns and went towards it. 

There were claw marks and they eyed the area "You go in" he shook his head "No" the darkness was thick when they heard the sound of gasps and running. Their guns were primed and ready when a man came running out screaming. They watched him run and they noticed that he's armour was gone. "You don't think that…?" the other man nodded "We have an infestation. Best to inform Lord Gorrath of it now" he was about to contact him when the other man stopped him "No, why bother Lord Gorrath with an infestation when we can handle it ourselves?" he eyed his friend "Even if we deal with it. He won't award us for our effort" he shrugged "It's better than telling him and losing my jaw block for not doing it" he shook his head "Don't be foolish! That creature sent that guy running! These things eat metal!" he readied his blaster and turned his flash light on "Common. It'll be fun to kill something" his friend stopped him "No. you'll get killed! Let's rather play it safe" he shook his head "You're such a woman" he glared at him "If staying alive is better than a quick thrill count me as a woman, then yes. I'll be a woman like the scientist. She brutalised those hunters. Let's go and warn the Commander and the War master that there are pests in the ship. I know that guy is planning on doing so" he sighed and stepped back "fine. You win."

"What" lord Gorrath spat "Yes War master. We are unsure of how many there are within the ships lower haul" Gorrath grabbed them by their face "Where"  
They showed Lord Gorrath where the man was sent running; that poor man was staying in the infirmary. "It's just one bad thing after another" Gorrath mumbled as he studied the claw marks and the deep indents as the metal was bent inside "What should we do my liege?" He shook he's head, pissed off "these things are no bigger than us, but I want no casualties. Put the ship on high alert. I want anyone to report strange sounds or if anyone is missing" he snapped glow sticks and threw it in. "I want these creatures gone before the ships outer haul is closed."

Sen woke up and stared at the ceiling as he tried to figure out what had happened. "Look who is finally awake" He turned to the voice and saw a glaring Ryuuk "That woman really messed you up" Sen rolled his eyes "What's wrong with you, Ryuuk?" He folded his arms "the fact that I hear that you passed out in her room is disturbing" Sen shut his eyes as the memory returned, she was dressing when he walked in, he felt himself blush and forced himself to sit up and to forget about it. "You have a problem with me Ryuuk. Not her" he scoffed "yeah, you're the big problem." Sen shot a glare at him "Instead of beating around the bush just spit it out" Ryuuk closed the door "You're obviously not into women" Sen Shook his head in irritation "So why aren't you into me?" Sen looked at him as he stood at the end of the bed "I'm not into whiny creatures and you have been doing a hell of a lot of whining since I returned to the ship" Ryuuk wrinkled his nose "I'm just annoyed that out of all these years you change because of a woman" Sen eyed him "And out of all these years I've had a gay roommate and never knew about it until he got jealous" Ryuuk puffed "I'm not jealous!" Sen rubbed his brow "Yes you are. Why else are you acting up like this? You're jealous because of the stupid rumours going on in the ship" he groaned "Well did you?" Sen narrowed his eyes "No, it's not true. I didn't lay her to keep her warm. I actually couldn't wait to get away from her" Ryuuk leaned against the railing "Then why were you in her room?" Sen rolled his eyes "She said somethings that peeked my curiosity and I just wanted to put my curiosity to an end" Ryuuk narrowed his eyes "Then why are you blushing?" Sen's face straightened "I'm not blushing, I just have a fever" Ryuuk scoffed "You're blushing" his smirk failed and turned sour 

"That's it. I hate her. The witch has you blushing." Sen shook his head "If you had such powerful feelings for me, then why didn't you say anything before?" Ryuuk turned his back to him "I wasn't about to run after an emotionless log like you" Sen sighed "If I haven't seen you naked before I would be second guessing your gender right now" Ryuuk turned and he was blushing "I'm surprised someone like you hasn't bothered to get some relief!" Sen gave him a steady glare before he sighed "My body doesn't react like everyone else" Ryuuk scoffed "Obviously, it's like you've never been hard before" Sen rolled his eyes "Get out" Ryuuk shook his head "No." Sen laid back down "Fine. Be bored. But continue whining and I'll force you out" Ryuuk sat down "You dream about her don't you" Sen groaned

Kira woke up with a gasp and she stared at the cold floor in front of her. "not again" she whispered in the darkness and her heart pounded "I really hate that" she stood up and went into the bathroom and splashed warm water on her face. She knew that something was wrong with her, even the stone knew. And they both hated it. But there was nothing she could do till this darkness within her faded again. "Kira?" she looked to the door and saw Kaman

"Are you okay?" she nodded "Just a headache" he frowned "The ship has an infestation. They eat metal so Lord Gorrath will speak with you about this… I can tell him that you need your rest" she shook her head as she dried her face "I can't help, I had snapped when I killed the beast that attack Sen. I don't remember much of it" he held her shoulders "Maybe I should get a doctor in here to check on you. You don't look well" she shook her head again "No. I just need"-"Rest" they turned to the door and Lord Gorrath was there, he gave Kaman a single gesture and he left, when the door closed Gorrath approached her "My liege" she gave him a short bow and he touched her face lightly "You need rest" she scoffed "You look worse for wear too my Lord" he shook his head 

"This planet is taking its toll on both of us" she walked out of his touch and sat down on the bed "I'll say. I'll gladly go back to be in a holding cell then be on this planet" he could see that something was amiss with in her eyes "Allow yourself to grieve Kira" she looked at him "It makes me want to hack the Time-drive and stop all this from happening" she shook her head as she chuckled pitifully "Don't be so grim. This is temporary" She rubbed her temples "feels like forever" he sat down beside her "How are your wounds treating you" she shrugged 

"They itch" he chuckled "Not what I expected to hear" she looked at him "I didn't even know that I was injured. That part kind of scares me" he smiled at her "You are strong. More so than my men. You attack the creatures, they flee from it. Makes me wonder how I'll be able to lead these idiots to war again" she patted his arm "they'll get up. I hear that a few men had hacked the system and watched my massacre of those hunters. Show them that and I'm sure many of them will try to top it" he chuckled "You cease to amaze" she looked at him "You really look terrible. Miss a couple more days of rest and I'm sure fatigue will scare the men" he chuckled lightly "You're on the same path. Those scales just make your fatigue unnoticeable" 

she chuckled "Yeah. That's true" she looked at him as he rubbed his neck "You need another massage?" he looked at her with a grin "Perhaps when we're off this world, yes. Gladly" she shook her head "You need to sleep my liege. It's not healthy for King to go on for a month without rest" he sighed "Lecturing me on rest is hypocritical of you" she sighed "It is, isn't it?" she leaned back. "So this infestation? How many does the ship have" he sat back "No idea. They clawed through the ships haul" he spoke tiredly "One attack and ate one of my men's armour. He refuses to leave the infirmary. It's infuriating" she rubbed her brow "I can't say I blame him, these creatures eat metal. As scientist I'm both appalled yet intrigued" he chuckled "If my men can kill one. You can gut it" she laughed "I know very little about the body. Your doctors can do more than I could" he looked at her "It's good to see you smile and laugh again" she breathed lightly "Please don't bring that princess title up" he laughed lightly "I won't trouble you with that" she grinned softly and her eyes were closed. 

There was a knock on the door before it opened and Kaman came in with tray of breakfast before he left. "What's that on your plate?" he stood up "This isn't on the menu" she sat up, "It's soup Lord Gorrath" he looked at her "How long have you been having soup?" she seemed to shrink under his angry gaze as she pointed to her horn and his frown deepened "You have been having soup since your horn broke" he looked at the regrown horn and he rubbed his brow "Have you been sleeping on the floor too then?" she gawked at him "how'd you?" he looked at her "It's habit. A slave habit" He sighed "When I first was chosen as King I couldn't sleep in the bed and I couldn't eat the food the chiefs made me. I had to force myself to get used to the treatment" 

she rubbed her neck sheepishly "Honestly soup is a lot easier for me to eat." He nodded as he eyed something on his plate as he glanced at her with a smirk, he picked it up and handed it to her as he sat down "What's this?" he leaned back "eat it" She eyed him before she poked it with the fork "It wobbles" he chuckled "Just eat it" she eyed him as she sliced off an edge of the delight, Gorrath noted the hand movements, she may have been raised a slave but the way she used the fork said otherwise. 

He watched her face as she put it in her mouth. Her eyes widened along with her pupils. She pulled the fork back and attempted to hide the smile that filled her face, her tail's tip moved up and down quickly. He could see that she could hardly contain herself "Is this what good tastes like?" she giggled and he chuckled "You could say that". She took another bite and he watched her savor the flavor of the sweet delicacy "You can expect real food starting tomorrow, I'll have this desert placed with it" she shook her head "As delicious as this is, I'd rather have this once a month. So that I'll never get bored of it" she smiled warmly and he nodded "Once a month then." 

he leaned his back against the wall and she placed the plate down as she calmed down "Do we know what type of creatures are in the ship?" he looked at her and shook his head "No. Only that their intrusion is delaying the repairs" she leaned back as she looked at him "Are you hiding here?" he looked at her as she grinned and he returned the grin "Partly" she shook her head "Need a break from being a leader" he chuckled "In part" she handed him the plate "Not going to finish it?" she shook her head "I've never had something so sweet before" he chuckled "It's a start" he looked at the food on the table 

"Go drink your soup" she just smirked "No, I'm good for now. Still feel that sweetness" he finished the desert "Feeling better?" she nodded "Thank you My Lord" he nodded with a grin, her calling him that eased him and made him feel warm "That's good" he rubbed his neck again "You really need another massage" he eyed her with a grin "Don't start. I said once we're off this planet" she waved at him as she looked to the side "Okay, fine" she smiled as he eyed her "You really are different from the other war lords" he leaned back "How so?" she looked to the side before returning her gaze "The previous two weren't serious about wanting a time drive, they were more of mocking me and my intelligence" she waved them off like a puff of fowl air and Gorrath thought in silence for a moment "It isn't everyday a species finds a woman with a higher IQ then the male side." He started

"I was more desperate than they were and was open to any new idea" he looked at her as he confessed and she nodded shortly after "I can understand your reasons. You are not only a War master but a King. You have more responsibility than the others." Her eyes visibly softened "It makes you a better leader and a stronger ally" he grinned warmly at her thoughts of him and she adverted her eyes "Also, like I said before. Admirable" if he weren't used to women's admiration of him he might have become slightly awkward pone seeing her in an almost bashful state.

But as the red flags in his head waved he sighed, he was getting far too comfortable with her and she him. He got up and made his way to the door "I don't want to hear that you have been napping on the floor" he grinned back at her and she chuckled lightly "I'll sleep in the bed, don't worry about me" the door opened and Kaman quickly straightened out as he bowed and Gorrath eyed him before he left. After Kaman made sure Gorrath wasn't close he opened the door and Kira gave him a knowing look 

"were you ease dropping?" he chuckled sheepishly "Didn't hurt anyone" he said softly "What did you manage to hear?" he looked at her "What did he do that he had you giggling like that?" she attempted to suppress her smile "I've never had anything like sweets before so when he gave me his desert…" she trailed off as she saw him gawk "he gave you his desert?" she leaned back "is that a bad thing?" he thought for a bit 

"well.. No… Just that they are made especially for him. Seeing that it's his favorite snack food it's just sort of a surprise that he let you have it" he looked at her "Well I had a bit of it, he had the rest. It was just too much flavor. I'm not used to it" he gawked again "You shared the desert!" she blanched backward at his yell "Why is this so shocking to hear?" he shook himself out the shock "It… ah… no. Never mind. It's not important…" he closed the door leaving her in the confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryuuk will have a lover  
Sen's past will be revealed soon  
will Dren ever recover?
> 
> -will I ever stop hitting my head on a wall as I write Summaries?---"no one will know"


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning OC-death  
The ship is invaded by metal eating monsters.   
One has Kira's intriguing scent and tracks her.   
How will the Glorft Fair in a battle on their broken ship?  
Will Gorrath get closer to Kira?

Chapter10

Pg63

A few days had passed and the men weren't able to find the beasts that were in the ships haul. And as the day progressed the Commander had to deliver the recent news result "There are no signs of the creatures and there are no reports of missing men or supplies." Gorrath pinched his brow before he slammed his fist in the chair's armrest, bending the metal "Look again! Commander! Or I will have your jawblock! Along with every miserable Cretan on this ship!" the Commander backed away with his clipboard held to his face "yes war Master" and left quickly.

Sen watched and waited for Kaman to leave before going to see her, knowing that she was dressed eased him greatly and he hoped that she didn't bring it up. He went to the door and it slid open, she looked at him rather surprised as the door closed behind him. As he was about to ask her his questions when she asked him first "How is your arm?" he blinked before he looked down at his arm in a sling before looking at her "It's fine, now-" she sighed "So you'll be able to use your arm again soon?" he glared lightly "Yes, now I need to know a few things" he started anxiously "Why didn't you just leave me there to die?" she frowned at his angered voice "I'm confused about your question…" he huffed irritably "You could have died attempting to save me and keeping me alive. Why the hell didn't you just leave!" she glared at him tiredly "I didn't need a reason to save you or to keep you alive. It was the right thing to do…"he pinched his brow angrily "Arrogant woman you could have died!" she just rolled her eyes as she looked away "Great so you came to shout at me for something I was already fully aware of?" 

she shook her head as he groaned "no, it's just" he trailed off and she looked at him "Despite all your rage towards me Sen, I'm glad you're okay" he looked at her startled and saw her sad kind eyes and the guilt took him and he sighed "I'm thankful that you are alright as well" he whispered "Why did you save me? Despite my… cruel behaviour towards you?" he couldn't bring his eyes to look at her "Why would I leave you there in the first place Sen?" her voice was firm "I'm just a soldier" he looked at her and she appeared more worn "Which just brings up the other question. What did you mean when you said I wasn't just another soldier to you?" she looked at him tiredly "I know you Sen. I know when to stay out your way and when you are in a good mood. I know that when you guarded me by my lab that your mind ends up wondering. You're not just another face. I could point you out in the crowd of Glorft" 

she sighed "I know you more than you think I do. After being a slave for so long, I learnt how to read a certain few people. I don't know your past and I don't know what happened to make you so distant and disconnected from people. But I know despite that you're a good guy" he just stared at her "Also, seeing you being impaled by that bug things leg just made me see Dren die all over again and I didn't want you to die that way either" she looked down as she rubbed her eyes and Sen frowned "I was scared" she whispered and Sen felt his heart ache at the sound of her broken voice "One more question" she looked at him "Why did you ask Lord Gorrath to have me reassigned?" his voice didn't betray his anger and confusion, "Because you have better things to do than waste your time guarding me…?" she then pointed to his arm "And you need to heal" her voice didn't sound very confident "When I'm healed I'll be back guarding you" she looked at him confused "Why?" he took in a deep breath of air "Because guarding you will be a great honor" she frowned even more confused "That makes no sense" he looked down "I apologize for my cruel behavior and my attitude towards you this entire time. Despite my bitterness you still saved me and despite the obvious dangers you remained by my side. Seeing you cry for me also…" he trailed off as he knelt on his knee

"You have humbled me with your tears and I owe you my life. You didn't just save me once during all of this... You didn't know how to swim and you could have left me to drown and to be left to the beasts of the deep but you still pulled me to the shore. Then with that beast you not only killed it-but you ended up pulling my sorry hide to the cave. Then with that strange berry remedy on my wounds and then burning my wounds closed, then with that bug…." He sighed

"I didn't deserve any of it with how I acted and I'm ashamed with myself with your honor and loyalty Lady Kira…" she narrowed her eyes "You're not doing all of this just because I'm suddenly a princess are you?" Her accusing voice made his head shoot up and pull into a stand as he waved his hand in dread at the question "No, I'm being completely sincerer! Honest!" she eyed him as he held his breath. "Okay good…" she looked at him up and down "You can relax and breath you know" he let out his breath and looked at her with concern "Do you forgive me?" she rose a brow "Nothing to forgive, Sen" she gave him a light smile but it faded quickly "Are you alright?" she nodded "When will you have your arm back?" he stood back for a moment "In a month…" She raised her brow "You Glorft are tough and fast healers. Geez" he smiled lightly

a few men were stalking the dark corridors of the inner haul layers using night vision masks as they followed claw marks and missing metal planks. The Leader signalled his group of men behind him to remain on guard and to be silent as he leaned over a large gaping hole and he saw large horde of these beasts sleeping. He leaned back and signalled his men to be ready as one went and threw in a gas grenade. Waiting for the grenade to go off and to see no smoke after a few moments leaned in

They were gone

Alerted he went in gun primed and ready to kill to discover that they had tunneled their way upward. Towards to the inner living quarters of the ship "Warn the Commander! They're on their way to the living quarters!"

Kira jumped when the alarm sounded and The Commander's voice came through a speaker "Red alert! The infestation is moving to the lower living quarters! Remain on Guard and armed! Move in groups! No one is to take on these creatures alone!" Sen straightened out "Are we safe?" she asked in a small voice and he nodded "Your room is on the higher levels of the ship. You are safe." the doors slid open and Gorrath had stomped in giving a glare to Sen immediately and when he bowed "Good at least you're here. Kaman will be here soon as well. I want you to report anything out of the ordinary." He glanced at Kira before he left

Men had their backs to the other as they waited for the beasts and after a moment of circling a distant scream was heard near a corner and the flash and sound of his blaster being shot could be seen with a large roar being released soon after. The man came running out shooting as he went as the creatures began to explode from the walls and floors. The men shot and stabbed but the weapons and blasts didn't do anything "How do we kill them!" one man yelled "Retreat!" yelled another as he didn't want any deaths. The men all ran for the doors punching and kicking the beasts when they came to close for comfort. "What should we do? They eat metal!" the other just shook his head "Just run!"

Men threw in gas, smoke, tear and knock out grenades but it appeared to only be a snack for these things as they caught it and swallowed it. "Screw it!" yelled one man as he pulled the pin off his grenade belt and threw it in and when a few ended up fighting over it and swallowing whatever they caught. After a few moments it exploded in their stomachs and the beasts blue and green guts went flying. Gorrath entered the battle and was impressed that none of he's men were killed, a few injured but not dead. The glory of battle was fresh in the air and he could see that a number of he's men were enjoying it.

The men went out through the ship searching everywhere for every beast. The creatures seemed to learn from the first wave to not eat the grenades and the men were jumped and ambushed every now and then and few returned from the onslaught of attacks. 

Gorrath couldn't stand that he's men were being abducted and killed and it just made him more determined to exterminate them.

When the news that men were being killed reached Kira's ears she withdrew in herself as guilt gripped her heart. Sen remained by her as Kaman went to guard Dren in secret as his friend remained in a coma. "Lady Kira" he looked at her as she sat with a pillow hugged to her chest "How's the situation on these beasts?" she asked, eager for good news "Don't worry. These things are on the run" she ran a hand through her hair "yeah running deeper into the ship." She sighed "This is horrible" he sat down on the chair near her "You know that we have gone through worse" she looked at him sourly "yes but then you all were in shape and now because of me we're stuck on this icy wasteland with nightmare beasts" he leaned back "how is this your fault?" she looked at him "If those hunters weren't looking for me, Dren would still be alive. The ship wouldn't have crash landed on this shitty planet and no one would be injured from these metal eating jerks" 

he narrowed his eyes "It's the hunters fault. Not yours" she buried her head in her hands "men are still dying." He scratched his head "Those who have died will be alive when we go back to save our home planets" she didn't seem fazed "yeah but they won't be very grateful for their second chances" he shrugged "Can't save everyone Lady Kira" she looked at him "Where is Kaman anyway? Didn't Lord Gorrath tell him to watch me with you?" Sen looked to the door "I suspect that he's gone to vent out anger" she sighed then looked at him with suspicious eyes 

"So…" he looked at her "When you walked in here last and saw me dressing…" he stood up making the chair flop down with a loud clap and he did his best to not blush "please don't" he begged and she tipped her head to the side "How much did you see anyway?" he looked away "I didn't see anything. Nothing" when she didn't reply he looked at her and she looked perplexed "really, I didn't see anything" she pointed at him "I was unaware that Glorft could blush…" she trailed off and he felt his heart just beat faster as the blood rushed to his face "Can we drop this subject" she just looked at him "This is an interesting development" he looked away awkwardly "Why aren't you embarrassed by this?" she just raised a brow "Guards watched me dress all the time, you seeing my back bare is no different" he looked at her still red "Why haven't you told Lord Gorrath of it?" she shrugged "You passed out, you didn't do anything wrong" he cleared his throat "You're not asexual, are you?" she asked and he shook his head "where did that rumor come from then. I know it was because of your supposed asexuality that lord Gorrath had you be my guard…" he ran a hand over his head "You keep to yourself and everyone suddenly thinks your asexual." He groaned "And you just let it happen? After all these years?" he shrugged "I didn't care. And now because after you and I were stranded together they believe the rumour to be truth because I didn't…" he stopped himself and she frowned "Say no more. Kaman told me about that rumour, I had become fairly annoyed by it myself" he sighed in relief "What people do when they have no excitement to entertain themselves with" she rolled her eyes "I would have thought that they would go over load in the gym. The acidic burn can be very addictive" she pointed to him "I can see that you focused on keeping fit" he looked away as he still felt the embarrassment.

Days passed and the men were becoming fatigued from the constant battle. Thankfully it appeared that the creature's numbers were decreasing and were now doing what they could to hide. Gorrath, though also becoming fatigued, fought beside he's men and continued to inspire he's soldiers to carry on.

Deep within the ship where the furnace sat surrounded by the ships rubbish as conveyer belts pulled the trash to power the furnace to power the ship. One of the creatures Alpha was digging through the trash when he's claws tore open one bag and a very enticing scent reached his nose. He breathed it in deeply before opening it further and pulled out drenched black skin. He pulled it out and smelled it further as he wrapped the skin around his front forelimb and began searching for the source as it climbed through a series of shoots.

The Commander was using his com-link to warn men of ambushes as he watched a certain few on cameras. He was especially keeping his eye on Lord Gorrath and the men about him. "War Master, you are closing in on a group of ten beasts, just five clicks from your right" Lord Gorrath nodded as he lead the group forward.

Kaman kept his gun in front of him as he stood by Dren. His heart monitor beeped in a steady pace and Kaman really wished that he would wake up and make it through this coma. Kira would be happy if he made it through, he'd be happy and Sen can back down and away from her. "You would have done just about anything to be alone with her for those two weeks" he murmured to Dren, knowing that he wouldn't wake. He missed he's friends company and voice. "Kira probably doesn't even know it, but I think she's in love with you Dren." He looked to the door as a few men rushed passed. "She feels terrible and I know that she misses you" he looked down at him "I wish I could tell her that you're alive… if only you'd wake up…" Kaman's heart ached at seeing his friend in such a terrible state "I don't think she'd like the Captain Dren. And I know that Captain you would deny ever being in love with her and disobeying Gorrath because of that…" he laughed to himself "It's a good thing she got to know your good side before she met the Captain side" he pinched his brow sadly "Common Dren… Wake up"

The Commander had men track the beasts that fled, to see if they ran out or if they would lead them to their nest. "Commander!" he looked to the screen "Yes War Master" Gorrath had lead the men to surround the beasts "Give me an update" the Commander looked all about him "Safe to go My Liege. You have them surrounded and in your sights" Gorrath signalled his men and each jumped onto the beasts and as the creatures rose with a startled roar the men shot them in their mouths, killing the creatures instantly. Their exterior shells may be hard and impenetrable but their guts were soft and squishy. Not even to bother to cheer in a victory, they followed their King to their next targets. They're senses heightened at the scene of battle and the smell of their enemies' blood in their nose that they now felt their warrior/soldier training kicked in. With the Commander being Lord Gorrath's eyes as he watched every camera in his direction to make sure that they wouldn't get jumped. And whilst they stalked the empty hallways, the Commander watched the other monitors for the other men.

Hours passed and Sen watched Kira drift off into slumber as she hugged a pillow to her chest and it eased him to see her calm. It had been a while since he had seen her relaxed, scary and sad yes, he had seen more than enough of that. His Com. Beeped on his left gauntlet and he looked at it shortly before answering it "Sen, Its Kaman. How is Kira?" Sen looked at her "Lady Kira is asleep. No dangers here" he waited a moment for Kaman to reply "A lot of men have been brought to the infirmary. I spoke to the doctor and he says that the creatures are dwindling in numbers" Sen nodded "Com. Back when you have further updates." A moment passed "Copy that. Kaman out"

A few hours later Sen sat up at a bump that sounded and he looked about him and waited when he heard it again, it came from the bathroom. Not willing to take a chance he went to lock the bathroom door and to wake Kira up. She sat up abruptly and looked at him confused "what? What is it?" he put a finger to his lips to tell her to be silent as he pointed to the bathroom door. She blinked then looked at him as he tugged on her arm, pulling her to the door. She followed him and when she heard a scratching noise her tail rose behind her as she became more alert. The door closed behind them and Sen led her elsewhere "We are we going?" she looked behind her, just waiting for something bad to happen. "The command deck" she didn't argue, Sen knew that if he had to defend her he would but with one arm he'd be pretty useless in keeping her safe. Taking her to the Commander where the camera's and security was the best option. He wouldn't risk her getting harmed, not after what she had already been through… what they had already gone through.

The Commander noticed that Sen had moved Kira out her room and he appeared extremely stern and he frowned "Sen, what are you doing?" he commed him as he kept them in his sights "There was a strange noise coming from the bathroom Commander. I'm bringing her to you where she'd be safe" the Commander nodded "Informing lord Gorrath" He switched Com-links as he contacted Lord Gorrath "My liege; Sen is bringing Kira to the Command deck. He claims that he heard strange sounds coming from the bathroom" Lord Gorrath paused in the hallway "Keep her in your sights and inform me when she is by your side Commander." Lord Gorrath signalled his men to go into defence formation and proceed ahead "Will do Lord Gorrath. Continue straight for 10 more clicks then turn left. The camera shows movement in the second storage room"

The creature's claw came out the shoot and felt around before it pulled its arm back and stuck its snout out and sniffed and when it heard no noise it clawed and broke through the white plated steel and it could hardly fit in the small cramped place and broke through the door. It sniffed around a bit more and went to the bed before it growled; it caught the scent of another male. It followed the scents to the main door and it growled again before it clawed its way in the vents.

The command deck's door slid open and the Commander turned to Sen and Kira "Lord Gorrath, Kira has arrived safely" his com. Beeped back "Good" the Commander returned to his station. "Sen take up a station and help" Sen listening to his higher command went to the only open station and went through the camera sections and put on a head set. "What can I do to help?" Kira asked as she leaned in near the Commander "Stay by Sen Kira. And don't worry. These beasts aren't going to survive" she nodded in slight defeat as she went to stand by Sen who grinned as he glanced down to her. "Take a break Lady Kira. You have done what you could thus far" she just folded her arms and grumbled to herself.

Kira ended up being Sen's helping hand because; let's face it she wouldn't sit there on her own while he had one arm. Her eyes were keen on detecting even the smallest of movement and ended up saving a few men from being ambushed.

The Commander had been keeping a look out for any other beasts but couldn't find any with the cameras and was unable to stop Lord Gorrath and his team from being ambushed. The cameras went out and the Commander was left blind "Lord Gorrath?" he commed and when he got no immediate response began searching for more ways to find him without causing panic. He kept an eye on Kira as she turned to look at him before returning to assisting Sen

Lord Gorrath struggled against a larger beast with a trail of thick wired fur lining down its back. It had pinned him on his back as he did what he could to keep it at arms-length. Its maws of extremely sharp teeth snapped at him wildly and it pushed against his arms. Gorrath could hear the screams of one of his men and the sicking sound of a limb being torn off and his death scream as he blasted the creature in the mouth before they both died. Gorrath glanced to his blaster and it was too far for him to reach for it and shoot the beast before it gnawed on him. The creature raised its free claw and was about to slam it on Gorrath's face when he managed to get some room between them enough to stick his leg in and kicked the creature away, the beast slammed into one of its own, freeing one of the men. Gorrath's group was a number of 10 men. Beasts climbed off their victims and flanked around the larger one. 6 men were left standing, including Gorrath. His men were injured badly and the four men were left in carnage of red. "Don't give up. If you're going down, take it with you!" letting out a battle cry he and his men charged at the beasts and the beasts them. It was a tackle for dominance and survival.

The Commander silently went to the other men and told them to dispatch a team to Gorrath's last known location and to keep an eye out for more ambushes from the beasts… they were intelligent, much to his dismay.

Kira heard a creak above her and she looked up and a feeling of dread filled her as she saw bright yellow eyes flash down on her. Sen seeing that her attention varied followed her gaze and … there was no time for warning when the beast tore through the metal and steel as he dove for her. Sen grabbed hold of her and pulled her out the way just in the nick of time as the large jaggered metal pieces crashed down and the large beasts destroyed his station. The men were immediately on alert as they started shooting at the beast. 

"Sen get Kira out of here!" The Commander shouted and Sen gave a firm nod as he pulled her over his shoulder; which she much disagreed with- and started to run for the door but just as he reached the door the beast had used its tail and pulled him back. Making him fly and crash into the other men, Kira was thrown into a wall and she let out a painful yelp. 

The creature circled the men as it cut them off from Kira. She propped herself on her elbows as her head spun and when she looked at the creatures lethal tail as it came near her she felt her heart palpitate painfully. "Kira! RUN!" One of the men shouted as Sen gained the creatures attention as he drew out his gun and started shooting it. It winced painfully but stood its ground and it used its tail a whip as it knocked the gun right out of Sen's hand. Kira was conflicted as she watched the men attempt to get to her. Run or stay and possibly get hurt… knowing Kira, running wasn't one of the options. She was about to stand up and jump onto the creatures back when she saw a few more creatures climb out sneakily from the busted open ceiling "Behind you!" she yelled as loud as her voice would allow. The Commander was the first to turn and he used his blaster to shoot one in the eye. It roared out as blue blood spilled from it and the other two advanced on the 7 men. Four of them turned and shot out wildly, not used to being in battle.

The larger beast gave out a grunt that sounded like a chuckle as its tail quickly curled around Kira. Pinning her arms to her sides, she flailed against it in a struggle for her freedom. Sen; pone seeing her life was in danger felt the adrenaline rush through him as he became more determined to save her life and to repay her for a kindness he felt undeserving of. Rushed towards the beast and as the creature gave a swipe of its large claws he dove beneath it and skidded towards her.

The beast became annoyed as it twisted, flinging her towards the wall with a crash. Sen glared hatefully at the creature as he pulled out his blaster just as the creature went for him. His arm was in the creatures maws and just as the creature slammed its teeth into his arm, he pulled the trigger. Kira looked up just to see Sen's pained but proud face as he grinned while the beast roared and reared backward. A mixture of blue and red blood sprawled from its maw as it jumped back into the ceiling. Sen's arm was covered in blood and it had three terrible open wounds. The beasts fled and the Commander and other men all went to Kira. "Are you okay?!" one man yelled, freaked out. "I'm fine, just a bit bruised" she pushed herself up and looked at Sen "You need a doctor" the commander nodded and Sen just smiled at her "Totally worth it" he sat down and one of the medics went to tend to his wounds, she stayed close to him.

Gorrath kicked the beast down and shot right through its eye sockets. The 5 men survived as Gorrath turn to access the situation, a sound of thundering footsteps came from the corner and a few more men showed up "Lord Gorrath! The Commander lost sight of you" Gorrath just nodded as he rolled his shoulder, he was bitten and his armour was nearly ripped off. "Commander" he waited and when he received static he growled "try your coms and contact the deck!" the men all about him tried and all received static. He growled "You four!" he pointed to them and they straightened out. "Attend our fallen and you four" he indicated to others "Get rid of these parasites!" he made his way to the command deck as he attempted to contact them. "Commander!" he was half way there when he finally received a reply "Forgiveness war master! We were under attack" Gorrath paused "And-" the Commander replied quickly "Kira is a bit bruised but otherwise alright. Sen had managed to chase away a lager beast but was severely injured. The other men and I were flanked by other beasts. Two stations were damaged one destroyed." Gorrath felt a bit eased by hearing that Kira was alright. "I'm on my way. Get the other men on their stations and continue to help rest"

In the infirmary Kaman became alert when the doctors came running passed the door screaming as a beast came charging through. Kaman started shooting it with no avail as the creatures armour just made the blasts bounce off and die. The creature knocked him aside and grabbed hold of Dren's unconscious frame and continued to run with him in its maws. "NO!" Kaman screamed, panicked as he raced after it and when his blasts finally annoyed the beast enough it turned with a roar, dropping Dren to the floor. Kaman attacked the creature in a fit of blind rage and dropped his gun as he took out his blades and began slashing at it. It reared and roared in displeasure before it attacked Kaman; and he was completely ready for it as it jumped in the air he tackled it to the ground, giving the beast a hard slam and as it rose its head to look at him and roar in his face. Kaman slammed his blades into the beast's mouth. He kept its head still as it squirmed and cried out and he pulled the blade out and slammed it down again and again and again. Over and over in the beast's maw, he stabbed and twisted the blade and even after the beast fell still, he continued. He's heart pounded in anxiety and distress. And when he could no longer find his strength he stepped back, leaving the blade in the bloody blue mess. He turned to where the creature had dropped he's friend and he felt his heart break at the sight of the blood that was pooled around him. He knew without even touching him that it was too late, that Dren was gone… tears burned his eyes and blinded him and in his yearning as he fell to his knees and punched the floor. The metal echoed down the hall as doctors peeped their heads out.

The doctor that Dren had patient under made a run to his aid and when Kaman looked up to see his face of pity and sorrow he felt himself unable to control his screams.

When Gorrath arrived to the deck he looked about the chaos and caught sight of Kira to his left. She was sitting on her knees and Sen's head rested in her lap. The medic was patching up his left arm and two men were waiting next to him with a stretcher, no doubt ready to take him to the infirmary for surgery. He could hear Kira asking a bunch of questions concerning Sen's health and if he would be alright. The Commander came up to him and explained the situation all the while Gorrath kept his eyes on Kira the Commander eyed his shoulder wound. The Commander knew that Gorrath was no doubt filled with adrenaline and it was the reason he didn't even appeared bothered by it. 

When Sen came past him on the stretcher followed by one of the medics; who also eyed his injury but knew that his king could handle more damage, just continued silently. Gorrath was about to approach Kira who was talking to a medic the Commander stopped him "There was an attack in the infirmary… Kaman dealt with it… but" He gave Gorrath a sad knowing look and Gorrath nodded "The creature attacked Him" The Commander nodded and Gorrath sighed. "So his one of the fallen then" The Commander nodded again. "Send men to check on Kira's room. If there is damage and that beast still lives then she is still in danger. Give orders to those whom aren't injured and can continue to search for the rest of those creatures and exterminate them. I want them dead Commander" The Commander nodded and Lord Gorrath patted him on the shoulder before he went to his scientist.

Kira's face lightened up pone seeing him but soon went in a pained frown and before she could ask if he was alright he placed a hand on her shoulder "I'm glad you are unharmed during all of this" The medic lifted a finger "yes, mildly bruised. But you My Lord are wounded. Let me-" Gorrath waved him off "Attend the others I can wait. My wounds aren't severe" Kira eyed him as the Medic bowed and left. "Come with me where it will be safe for you." Gorrath lead her out the chaos of the Command deck and into a quiet hallway. He kept her close and she kept her eyes on his wounded shoulder, "Where are we going?" she asked quietly; like she didn't want to break the silence. 

He glanced on her momentarily "My quarters will be the safest place for you right now" she scratched her head "Do you have a medic kit in there?" he nodded "Then will you let me clean your wounds at least so that you don't get infected?" he grinned "you worry too much" she frowned "you didn't see Sen's wounds after that thing attacked him. I have a good reason to worry" he nodded "indeed. Alright, I'll allow you to tend to my wounds" it took a while till they arrived at the door and when it opened she was sort of taken aback and while he took out the medic kit and removed the armour she stood there a bit confused "I honestly was expecting … more" he turned to her as he un-clipped his armor's chest piece "More? Such as gold and diamonds?" she shrugged "I've served under a few royal brats when I was a kid. I didn't expect your room to be, well so bland… it's big certainly but it doesn't look any different than anything else" he chuckled as he removed his back piece 

"I was a war lord before I became a King." She went up to him and whipped a finger across his back and looked at the puss "See, its already getting nasty" he looked at his chest "I see your point" he turned to her and she began opening the kit "I'm surprised you're not grossed out by it" she shrugged "I've seen nastier things then infected wounds" he sat down and she moved behind him and began cleaning his back wound and she was sort of impressed by his muscles or the scars that were on his back she didn't know exactly which yet 

"The Commander said the beast was targeting you" he started "Sen and I did hear weird sounds from the bathroom" he hummed "You'll remain by me in case that beast hasn't died from it wounds" she hummed "Sen shot it in the mouth… if it lives, I'll be both terrified and impressed" he disagreed "One shot won't kill it…" she sighed "Well then it'll be pissed off…" she began removing the puss from the wounds as she disinfected it and it stung but Gorrath didn't mind it much and she huffed "When this is all over I'm seriously building that amour for you. I have no idea why you put it off for so long. It'll be the most useful suit of armour ever" he chuckled "you should build one for yourself Kira" she smirked "Get me more ore and I'll be able to" he chuckled 

"~my lord the Scientists room has been destroyed~" he grumbled "Track the beast. If you don't find its corpse keep looking" "~ It appeared to have crawled up from the rubbish shoot my liege~" he stayed quiet for a while 

"Keep searching" he sighed and she moved to look at him "My dead skin. Maybe that's how it managed to track me…" he nodded "It's the most likely reason, yes." She sighed "I should have just asked to have it burned…" he nodded as she pulled out tape "What are you doing with that?" she pulled off a piece "using it in substitution for stitches. To close your wounds" he nodded impressed "When did you learn all of these?" she hummed "Learn a few things when traveling and jumping from slaver to slaver. Other refugees and slaves and rebels and other ET aliens knowledge" he rubbed his chin "You really went out your way to learn things then?" 

She smirked "Yeah and I always ended up getting a beating for the efforts but it was all worth it" he took in a deep breath "You're a strong woman you know that Kira" she shrugged as she moved to clean and disinfect his chest wounds and Gorrath smiled warmly the entire time that she couldn't even look him in the eyes and while he enjoyed the very idea of her being this close to him, she felt awkward the entire time "okay stop staring at me" he chuckled and then the door opened with the Commander walking in with his nose in his note pad and Gorrath glared at him 

"My liege, the men have found a blood trail and are tracking the beast. Sen is in the infirmary and Kaman is-" he paused as he looked up and backed up when he saw the glare, Kira gave him a friendly wave "I'll return…later then" he left quickly "What was that about?" Kira turned to Gorrath and he just gave a light shrug "Most likely forgot something" she returned to patching his wounds. Even though Gorrath was fully aware that being alone with her was extremely risky and tempting and the red flags in his head were waving rapidly; he ended up ignoring it. After hearing that she was being moved to the Command deck and hearing that they were under attack. 

He felt an anxiety that made him fear for her. And now with the beast that targeted her was still at large. He felt that she needed him more than ever… and also he just wanted her to himself. Her eyes were focused and her nimble hands steady. He knew that right then that he was falling for her. What a terrible time to learn such a truth.  
She fingered the tape down and hummed "You'll need to get stitches, these won't hold long enough for your skin to start to heal" he hummed "I'll have a doctor come here then" she began cleaning up the mess "What will happen now? The ships haul can't be closed till these things are dead…" he pinged a doctor "That will be dealt with later. Right now you'll need to get amour and give you something to change your scent" He moved to his dresser and dug in the back and as she dumped the waste in the bin he turned to her with something in his hand. "I can't recall the last time I wore this…" he trailed off and she looked at it "Cologne…" she murmured and he opened the cup and she sniffed it and quickly held her nose "Oh gosh that strong, what is that supposed to be used for?" he laughed "Lure in woman ironically" her nose wrinkled "Your women are attracted to that?" he noted that she didn't enjoy such a scent for future use as he smirked "Get used to it Kira. This is what you'll be smelling like until that beast is dead" she frowned "don't you have anything less … powerful?" he shook his head "It knows your scent Kira. It will be deterred by this" he handed it to her and she held it at arms-length with disdain and he laughed again "Laugh anymore and your wounds will start bleeding again" she said a bit sourly as the door opened and the Doctor walked in with the Commander. 

Gorrath sat back down on the bed as the Doctor went to removing her substitute tap patches "Who tended to your wounds My Lord?" He looked at Kira "She did" the Doc looked at her and nodded "I'm impressed, made my job easier" the Commander handed Lord Gorrath his note pad and let him read through everything and he had a nasty annoyed frown pulled on his features as he read the bottom piece –"You know the dangers of YOU being left alone with her and in your room no less!... P.S-please don't rip out my jaw block for this"- Shooting a glare at the Commander who backed away and turned his attention as to why Kira was holding his cologne away from her. "Ah, why do you have that?" she looked at him "Lord Gorrath says that I have to wear this to mask my scent because the creature that tracked me is still alive" He nodded with a small frown "Ah, yes…" Gorrath kept still as the Doctor did his job "Commander, get her armour as well." She looked at him "Armour?" he nodded "It will at least offer some protection from these beasts bite" the Commander nodded as he went off "Great. Any more surprises I should be aware of?" he chuckled.

The Armour was bulky and uncomfortable; she didn't know how any of the Glorft could even function in these things. "Stop squirming, Kira" Gorrath said as he chuckled while looking at her "I can't. I have no idea how you all can function in these bulky things" he shook he's head as he shook the old cologne bottle. She stopped fidgeting and looked at him "Must I wear that too?" he nodded and she wrinkled her nose. "Let me put the mask on at least so I don't have to smell it." He shook he's head. "The armor protects you from being mortally wounded; it won't conceal your scent" she groaned as he approached her and sprayed her neck and she held her breath as he did. "Oh I can taste it it's so strong" she muttered. "Lord Gorrath. The men found a nest in the inferno generator" They looked at the Commander "You have an inferno Generator?" Gorrath handed her the helmet "How many?" The Commander handed him the information "There seems to be a few giant alphas. 4 or 5 of them and the rest are the drones." Gorrath didn't like it as he looked at Kira waving her hand in her face to avert the cologne. Where would she go where she'd safe? He certainly wasn't bringing her with. "They don't know yet. And the one that attacked her wasn't among them" He glared sourly "She is still endanger." He moved and placed the helmet on her head as he sprayed more of the cologne on her. "Keep spraying this every hour. It'll at least keep you masked among the men." She took it bitterly, not only did she stink her tail was extremely uncomfortable. "Commander" Gorrath said in a low growl and that was all it took to make he's position clear. "Keep her safe."

She was in the middle of a bunch of men who wore the cologne and masks. The Commander also did it as they stood in a room. Guns ready and waiting for any beast to attack… they however didn't trust her with a gun and nor did she. So she stood with a bow-staff…

While Gorrath lead quadrants of men towards the beasts nest. Each man at every known entrance and others booby-trapping their gaping tunnels. Attempting to do so quietly as they readied their weapons. They had to be careful to not hit the generator, if that malfunctioned, half the ship would blow and they'd be stranded.

Ryuuk stood over Sen again. He didn't know how many times that blasted woman would keep getting Sen in such pitiful situations. Broken arms, stab wounds and what next, a missing limb? He growled in frustration. Why could Sen have fallen in love with him instead of that blasted scientist! He glared at Sen Then with a gleeful smile. The doctor had given him orders to help and assist Sen in any which way because of he's injuries. It was He's chance and with Sen wounded, he wouldn't be able to stop him.

Gorrath launched their attack and the beast reacted immediately and no sooner each man was engulfed with the fuel for battle. Each beast was pitted against two or three soldiers or warrior and Gorrath was tackling the largest Alpha.

Kira's senses were dulled out by the cologne and the mask and none of them were prepared when the floor gave way from beneath them, the Commander grabbed hold of Kira as they fell and Kira grabbed onto one of the other men. Thankfully the fall wasn't so far and many of them landed on their feet. They all began surrounding her again in formation, they're guns aimed at a pack of the beasts. The creatures had surrounded them and behind the pack, growling darkly was the alpha that attacked Kira and he was waiting. The Commander didn't want he's jawblock hanging on Gorrath's hip, so he reframed from calling in. knowing that he was in battle. Each of the men knew the consequences. They didn't care as much if they died; they knew they'd have a second chance. The one with no such luck was the woman. "Alright men, let's give these ugly shit's what they came for" One man muttered loud enough for everyone to hear over the com. Links.

Gorrath shoved he's blade down the monsters throat and twisted his hand for the blade to cut and stab the creature from the inside out. The creature yanked its head to the side, making the blade cut its mouth and jaw wide open. It roared and shrieked aimlessly as it thrashed from the wound. Gorrath strode up to the beast and kicked it and punched it hard in the face. It reeled backwards and shook its head its eyes were filled with disarray. "You will regret ever coming aboard my ship. You will regret ever laying your eyes pone the GLORFT!" Gorrath roared as he buried he's blade in the beast open maw. Pinning it down to the metal floor as Gorrath shoved grenades down its throat. It thrashed and pulled and attempted to claw at lord Gorrath but to no avail. Once he retracted he's arm and pulled his blade from the maw it screeched and before it could chase Gorrath down as he walked away to he's next victim. It blew up. Blue blood and guts flew to the sides. The blue blood dribbled down the walls as Gorrath took on the nearest beast with a war cry…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh yes, action. just action.   
nothing fluffy yet.


End file.
